TheBuzz Erika Engle

Planned P.F. Chang's at Royal Hawaiian may hire up to 250

Scheduled to open in late summer of next year, the restaurant will encompass 11,000 square feet on two floors at the corner of Kalakaua Avenue and Lewers Street, and it will be the second-largest restaurant in the 136-unit chain, said Sherri Rigg, local marketing director. The largest P.F. Chang's is at the Aladdin Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. A lot of Hawaii people who go to Las Vegas know P.F. Chang's from that location, Rigg said.

The average P.F. Chang's employs 125 to 150 people, but the Waikiki location may hire as many as 250, she said.

Architectural design is not yet final, but each floor will have an open-air lanai, and between the bar and the main dining area, the restaurant will seat 375 people.

Hawaii's first P.F. Chang's at the Hokua high-rise condominium on Ala Moana, is now slated to open by the middle of next month. It had been scheduled to open earlier, "but things can shift," Rigg said.

The Hokua location will have 282 seats, including a 72-seat bar.

A staff of 160 people has been hired for the Hokua location. Employees, family, friends and corporate trainers enjoyed a company picnic at Magic Island on Sunday. Staff training is under way and, "everybody's real excited about Hokua opening," said Rigg. "It's really going to be a great night-life spot."

P.F. Chang's doesn't raise prices between lunch and dinner for the same food, Rigg said. Entrees will range from $8.95 to $15.95.

The same people who brought Starbucks and Jamba Juice to Hawaii, Cafe Aroma Inc., created PFC Hawaii LLC, a joint venture with Arizona-based P.F. Chang's Bistro Inc. to develop the Hawaii restaurants. PFC Hawaii is P.F. Chang's only licensee and has exclusive rights for Hawaii, Rigg said.

No other locations are being actively explored in the state at the moment.

"We're extremely excited about having such a fabulous, different kind of Chinese cuisine establishment available for our local residents as well as our visitors," said Anne Murata, marketing director for the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center.

The center is undergoing a large scale redevelopment.

"One of the primary revitalization objectives that we had for the center was to be 'famous for food,'" said Susan Todani, director of development and planning for Kamehameha Schools, which owns the center. It is managed by California-based Festival Cos.

P.F. Chang's will join the wildly popular Cheesecake Factory; the yet-to-open Señor Frog's, which had been scheduled to open in June; and more established eateries such as Restaurant Suntory.

So, what does the P.F. in P.F. Chang's stand for? Not a Chinese name, but for Paul Fleming, founder of the chain and its casual dining sister Pei Wei Asian Diner, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and other restaurant concepts. He retired from P.F. Chang's but is still a player in the restaurant industry.