Santa Ana’s Faka’s Island Grill, which specializes in traditional Hawaiian BBQ with a modern twist, is expanding to Torrance, located at 970-990 W 190th St.
The restaurant’s second location will move into the upcoming multi-purpose shopping center called The Enclave, expected to have a soft opening in July and a grand opening in October. Other restaurants coming to the area include Berry Brand, Long Beach Fish Grill, and Lea Jane’s Hot Chicken. Owner Dave Faka will use the space to serve island deliciousness with a modern approach. Customers can expect delicious Hawaiian BBQ meals such as katsu sandwiches, pork belly tacos, a garlic shrimp plate, and holy faka’n fries.
After entering and winning first place at a Shark Tank-style business plan competition at his college, Pese used the $5,000 seed money to buy the bare essentials for his business. The company started catering and booking jobs from Craigslist and then signed up to be vendors at local community events. Faka was able to finally open his first location in Santa Ana as a way to honor his mother, Rhonda Tuufuli Pese, who passed away from cancer. Now the company is getting ready to launch its second official location sometime this summer.
“Faka’s is about taking culture and using what we can while adding our part to the story,” according to the company’s website. “This isn’t your traditional island food, and to be honest, we like it that way. We don’t invent most of the things that we do but learn from others before us. We try to broaden the horizon to show people what’s possible when you think outside of the box.”
