---
title: "Hawaiian Bros inks 5-unit development deal to enter California"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/97519e6e-ddd0-49db-b876-00dcc6724c85
source: "FastCasual"
original_url: https://www.fastcasual.com/news/hawaiian-bros-inks-5-unit-development-deal-to-enter-california/
category: "QSR"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "QSR"
topics: ["Development & multi-unit"]
published: 2026-11-11T11:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-11T18:03:13.835Z
image: https://nmgprod.s3.amazonaws.com/media/file/96/b3/ab1d59844eddc5e59bd412290bcd/cover_image__68xsmLDU__HawaiinBros.jpg
---

# Hawaiian Bros inks 5-unit development deal to enter California

**TL;DR:** Hawaiian Bros Island Grill enters California with a five-unit development deal signed with franchisee Ohana Island Foods.

*originally published in FastCasual on 2026-11-11. [Read the original](https://www.fastcasual.com/news/hawaiian-bros-inks-5-unit-development-deal-to-enter-california/).*

## Key facts

- Hawaiian Bros signs a five‑unit development agreement with Ohana Island Foods to open restaurants in the San Fernando Valley, marking the brand’s first California entry.
- Ohana Island Foods, led by Heather Goss and Terry Jones, operates 16 Jack in the Box and Del Taco restaurants across Southern California.
- Hawaiian Bros operates and franchises more than 80 restaurants in 14 states.
- The company recently signed a 52‑unit development deal with Southern Rock to enter Florida.

## Story

Franchisee Ohana Island Foods signed a five-unit deal with Hawaiian Bros Island Grillto develop and operate restaurants in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California.

The deal marks the Hawaiian plate lunch brand's entry into California. Construction and opening dates were not available.

## Franchisee background

Ohana Island Foods is led by Heather Goss and Terry Jones. The father-daughter team operates 16 Jack in the Box and Del Taco restaurants throughout Southern California, in Ventura County, the San Fernando Valley and Pasadena.

"Heather started on the line in a Jack in the Box and worked her way up to running her own restaurants and multi-unit portfolio. That path is exactly what we look for," Grant Kreutzer, senior vice president of franchise development at Hawaiian Bros, said in a press release.

## Company expansion

"She knows how these restaurants run from every seat, and she's opening them in the community she grew up in. Multiunit franchisees based in California have been asking for Hawaiian Bros development opportunities, and we couldn't have picked a better team to introduce us there."

Hawaiian Bros, which is based in Kansas City, Missouri, operates and franchises more than 80 restaurants in 14 states. Last month, the company signed a 52-unit development deal with franchisee Southern Rock to enter Florida, with restaurants planned for Gainesville, Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa over the next six years.

---
Originally reported by FastCasual (https://www.fastcasual.com/news/hawaiian-bros-inks-5-unit-development-deal-to-enter-california/). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/97519e6e-ddd0-49db-b876-00dcc6724c85).