Hawaiian barbecue a big hit downtown
It’s been open for business for exactly one month and already it’s nearly impossible to get a lunch time table at the new Hawaiian barbecue restaurant in Willows.
“From noon to about 1:30 it’s hectic, really busy,” said Wendy Lue, owner of Lu Lue’s Grill and Hawaiian Barbecue.
Lue, 52, opened her downtown restaurant June 4 with the help of her family and very little fanfare.
However, word tends to spread quickly around Willows when food gets involved.
“It’s a great place,” said local attorney David Nelson, who stopped in for a plate of curry shrimp Thursday. Nelson, already a regular, recommended the curry and the barbecue beef plates. “They’re all good,” he said.
Hawaiian-style art, painted mostly by Lue’s children and other relative, adorn the walls. Lue created all the recipes herself, which include everything from fresh garlic noodle plates and grilled spam to Portuguese sausage, double bacon cheeseburgers and homemade lemonade.
She said her business philosophy is to provide good, mostly healthy meals to customers at “fair, local prices.” The most expensive menu item is the high protein “Super Plate” at $8.
Lue moved to Willows in January 2008 after retiring from California State University, Los Angeles.
“I looked at other places to live like Redding,” Lue said, “but, Willows seemed like the best for me because of affordable housing prices and it’s a little closer to my family.”
Lue, a San Francisco native, began working in her family’s Chinese restaurant when she was 13. She worked in her family’s kitchen off and on over the years, dividing time with her career in education, until the restaurant was sold in 1998.
She received no formal cooking lessons, but said growing up in a professional kitchen was better for her anyway.
“Hands-on experience is better than anything else,” she said.
Hoping to retire back into the family business, Lue said she carefully researched restaurant opportunities in Willows. She avoided several locations closer to Interstate 5 in favor of the downtown location on North Butte Street.
“I really wanted to have a restaurant for locals,” Lue explained.
Since opening, Lue has hired five employees, all Willows residents she is careful to note.
The choice to open a Hawaiian barbecue was also well researched.
“Willows already had Chinese restaurants, and I wanted to bring something new,” Lue said.
And locals seem to like the new choice. Lunch time at Lu Lue’s is typically standing room only.
“It’s a place where you see your friends,” Willows resident Mel Carmen said.
Mel and his wife, Sue, said they enjoy the intimate, local secret atmosphere.
“It’s nice to have something different in Willows,” Sue said.
