Rob Thibaut and Sandy Saxten founded TS Restaurants, and the company is now marking 50 years in business. Its history is not one of steady growth; it was built back up twice after hurricanes destroyed two of its earliest locations. The pair started the group in 1975, with an approach centered on places they wanted to live, work, and play. Today, as TS Restaurants approaches its 50th anniversary in 2027, the business remains active in Hawaii and California, running a dozen restaurants between the two states with several more expected to open soon.
The company’s signature Hula Pie, a huge slice of macadamia nut ice cream with hot fudge in a chocolate-cookie crust, first appeared at Kimo’s in Lahaina, Hawaii, in 1977. That restaurant, a nearly 400-seat establishment in a historic waterfront building, was completely destroyed in 2023 when hurricane-whipped winds pushed a fire through the beach town, killing more than 100 people. No one on staff at TS Restaurants was hurt, but many lost their homes.
The Founders’ Early Years
Thibaut and Saxten met in college in California and both worked in leadership at The Rusty Scupper, a restaurant chain, traveling around to open new locations. In their 20s, they sold their interest in the chain and went to Europe for a three-month adventure before returning to start TS Restaurants.
“They wanted to build a lifestyle company,” said TS Restaurants CEO Jackie Reed. “Today everybody talks about a lifestyle company and trying to find some balance with professional and personal life. But this was 1975. Nobody was talking about that then.”
The company currently operates a total of 12 restaurants, placed in remarkable settings across Hawaii and California, with several additional venues scheduled to open over the next couple years. Among them are the Duke’s brand, which honors surfing champion Duke Kahanamoku, is its largest. The company also operates two Hula Grills and one-offs like Keoki’s and Jake’s, and Leilani’s.
Sandy’s daughter Susie Saxten holds the chair, while Thibaut and Saxten are no longer alive. Their families still run the restaurants and make up the majority on the board.
Rebuilding After Two Hurricanes
The company has rebuilt after two major disasters:
- Duke’s first location opened in Kauai in 1989. That restaurant was destroyed by a hurricane just weeks later, and it took three years to rebuild.
- Kimo’s, the restaurant that launched the Hula Pie, was destroyed in 2023 when hurricane-whipped winds pushed a fire through Lahaina, killing more than 100 people.
Both locations were gutted and completely restored, though the process took more than a year in the case of Duke’s Kauai. Duke’s Malibu reopened in March, but the Pacific Coast Highway on which the restaurant sits remains under construction, making it challenging to reach.
Lahaina’s Comeback
Kimo’s will be back, though it is not clear whether it will return to the original location. Reed said the waterfront site where Kimo’s remains a work in progress as Lahaina pushes ahead with its recovery, while the status of the property for redevelopment continues to be assessed.
“But we knew this would be a faster way,” said Reed. “It’s the first wave of development, and we wanted to be a part of bringing Lahaina back. This is our community and these are our people.”
The company behind Kimo’s has set its sights on a location in a historic site called the Chan Wa Building, where Hawaii business leaders Kent Untermann and Mousa Hassan are working on a restoration project. TS Restaurants is still committed to its original space, but it also wants to get in on the early stages of development at the building.
The Family Culture That Survived
Hawaiians refer to family and friendship as ohana, and that ethos has kept the company alive. Reed serves as proof that this culture remains whole.
Some 37 years ago, she began her working life as a hostess at Leilani’s, taking the position at age 18. She did not then foresee that she would remain with the company through her adult years and eventually rise to become CEO in 2015.
“It’s been such a wonderful place to grow up and learn,” she said. “That’s the great thing about being in a family-owned company that’s growing and has a lot of opportunity. You’re nurtured and cared for in a really beautiful way. And Rob and Sandy created that culture.”
“This is an ohana. This is a family,” added Reed. “And there are opportunities if you want to stay here for your whole career. If you want to stay a little bit, that’s great too.”
What’s Next
The firm stays devoted to places with a distinct identity, and, ideally, lovely sunsets above water. Among its brands, one is departing the family: Sunnyside Restaurant & Lodge at Lake Tahoe. The property will be taken over by a local operator when the lease ends in October.
The emphasis stays on locations with a strong sense of place, and ideally, stunning sunsets over water. The company remains dedicated to the founders’ ethos of building a business around family and friendship, or ohana, as Hawaiians say.
TS Restaurants has weathered two major setbacks by rebuilding both times. Its founders envisioned a lifestyle company in 1975, and the business has since devoted half a century to showing that such a lifestyle can endure nearly any hardship.
Source material: “TS Restaurants: Finding paradise through fires and floods,” Nation's Restaurant News.
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