Ate-Oh-Ate

Ate-Oh-Ate is a small chain of Hawaiian restaurants operating in the Portland metropolitan area of Oregon. The name refers to Hawaii's 808 telephone area code, while the brand's logo features a cheerful, well-fed pig, reflecting its emphasis on pork dishes and the playful spirit of its food and hospitality. The business was founded by Benjamin Dyer, who opened the first restaurant in Portland in September 2010. David Kreifels and Jason Owens are co-chefs and co-owners, and the three have developed the concept as an independent, locally oriented restaurant business rather than as a large national chain. The original location on East Burnside Street was designed as a compact, informal Hawaiian restaurant. Its approximately 40-seat interior includes high ceilings, skylights, exposed wood, a long mural, and assorted island-themed decorative objects. A second location opened in Portland's Woodstock neighborhood in October 2016. The Woodstock outpost occupies a smaller footprint of roughly 600 square feet and seats about 48 guests; it also began with a somewhat narrower menu than the original restaurant. A third location opened in Beaverton on April 15, 2024, in a space previously occupied by Big's Chicken. The three-location footprint remains concentrated in the Portland area. Ate-Oh-Ate's menu draws from Hawaiian comfort food while incorporating Japanese, Korean, and broader Pacific influences. Representative dishes include the Aina burger, which combines a beef burger with crispy pork belly, spicy mayonnaise, and kimchi relish; Spam musubi with a fried egg wrapped in nori; beef short ribs; katsu chicken; and hekka. The restaurant also serves rice bowls, teriyaki, sandwiches, cocktails, beer, and shaved ice. Vegan and vegetarian customers can choose dishes such as curry bowls and grilled tofu with teriyaki. Side dishes include white rice, green salad with sesame dressing, and macaroni salad. The brand's food has received repeated attention from Portland dining publications. Its Aina burger, Spam musubi, chicken wings, teriyaki, and kalua pig sandwich have each appeared in local food guides or rankings. Coverage has generally characterized the restaurant as an accessible, casual venue that brings greater culinary ambition and cross-cultural technique to familiar Hawaiian and island-associated foods. Its happy-hour program has also been noted for combining Hawaiian snacks and drinks with comparatively approachable prices. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ate-Oh-Ate adapted by offering takeout and delivery. Its pandemic-era takeaway menu included rice bowls and sandwiches built around banana-leaf slow-roasted pork shoulder, Korean short ribs, grilled Korean chicken, and grilled tofu. In late 2020, the restaurant also partnered with Nemo Design to sell branded golfing discs as an additional income-generating initiative. Overall, Ate-Oh-Ate is positioned as a locally rooted casual-dining brand: informal, playful, and island-inspired, but with a menu broad enough to include substantial meat dishes, vegetarian options, drinks, and portable meals.

Ate-Oh-Ate emerged in Portland, Oregon, as a small restaurant concept centered on Hawaiian food and the culinary traditions associated with Hawaii. The brand name is a phonetic reference to Hawaii's 808 area code. Its pig logo and menu convey a deliberately friendly, informal identity, while the restaurant's food combines recognizable island staples with Japanese, Korean, and other Pacific influences. Benjamin Dyer opened the first Ate-Oh-Ate restaurant in Portland on September 11, 2010, after the project had been expected to launch earlier that summer. The original business began with service from late morning through the evening, followed by a grand-opening party on October 19. The East Burnside restaurant was relatively small, seating about 40 people. Its interior used high ceilings, skylights, exposed wood, a large mural extending roughly 50 feet, and island-themed objects to create a casual neighborhood setting rather than a formal dining room. The restaurant's menu established the core of the brand. It included the Aina burger with crispy pork belly, spicy mayonnaise, and kimchi relish; Spam musubi with fried egg and nori; beef short ribs; katsu chicken; and hekka. Vegetarian and vegan offerings included curry bowls and grilled tofu, generally served with rice and either a green salad with sesame dressing or macaroni salad. Drinks included cocktails and beer, while shaved ice provided a dessert associated with the restaurant's island-oriented identity. Ate-Oh-Ate expanded beyond its original site in October 2016, when Dyer, David Kreifels, and Jason Owens opened a second location in Portland's Woodstock neighborhood. The Woodstock site was approximately 600 square feet and seated about 48 guests. Its menu was somewhat smaller, but the location preserved the brand's emphasis on compact, approachable service and Hawaiian-inspired food. By this period, the three chefs were identified as co-owners and co-chefs, giving the business a shared culinary and operational leadership structure. Local media coverage helped establish Ate-Oh-Ate as a recognizable Portland dining destination. The Aina burger was included in an Oregonian ranking of the city's best burgers, while the restaurant appeared on the newspaper's list of Portland's best restaurants. Its Spam musubi was highlighted in an inexpensive-dining guide, and other publications recognized the restaurant's chicken wings, teriyaki, pork belly dishes, happy hour, vegetarian meals, and kalua pig sandwich. Reviews commonly described the cooking as more serious and technically ambitious than the restaurant's playful, kitschy presentation might suggest. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the business to emphasize takeout and delivery. In 2020, its takeaway offerings included rice bowls and sandwiches built around pork shoulder slow-roasted in banana leaves, Korean short ribs, grilled Korean chicken, and grilled tofu. The brand also worked with Nemo Design to sell branded golfing discs later that year, creating a merchandise-based revenue initiative during a period when restaurant operations were constrained. Ate-Oh-Ate continued its local expansion with a Beaverton location that began operating on April 15, 2024, in a former Big's Chicken space. The third site extended the brand's reach within the Portland metropolitan area without changing its geographically concentrated, independent-restaurant character. Its overall identity remains that of a casual Hawaiian restaurant brand offering familiar comfort food, cross-cultural Pacific flavors, drinks, and a playful neighborhood atmosphere.

1. 2024Beaverton location opens

   A third location began operating in Beaverton on April 15.

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2. 2020Pandemic takeout and delivery operation

   Ate-Oh-Ate expanded takeout and delivery offerings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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3. 2016Woodstock location opens

   Dyer, Kreifels, and Owens opened a smaller second location in Portland's Woodstock neighborhood in October.

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4. 2010First Ate-Oh-Ate restaurant opens in Portland

   Benjamin Dyer opened the original East Burnside restaurant on September 11, establishing the Hawaiian restaurant concept in Portland.

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5. 2010Grand opening celebration

   The original location held a grand-opening party on October 19.

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A casual, locally owned Hawaiian restaurant brand combining island comfort food with Japanese, Korean, and broader Pacific influences. Ate-Oh-Ate emphasizes approachable dining, playful island-themed branding, substantial pork and meat dishes, vegetarian choices, cocktails, and a neighborhood-restaurant atmosphere.

• Aina burgerBurger

  A signature burger combining a beef patty with crispy pork belly, spicy mayonnaise, and kimchi relish. The dish represents Ate-Oh-Ate's approach of pairing familiar American restaurant formats with Hawaiian, Korean, and broader Pacific flavor cues.

• Spam musubiHawaiian snack

  Ate-Oh-Ate's version features Spam and a fried egg wrapped in nori. It is one of the restaurant's most frequently recognized offerings and reflects the importance of portable, savory snack foods in Hawaiian culinary culture.

• Kalua pig sandwichSandwich

  A sandwich built around pork prepared in the restaurant's Hawaiian-influenced style. During the pandemic, related takeaway offerings used pork shoulder slow-roasted in banana leaves, making the sandwich format suitable for delivery and takeout.

• Hawaiian-inspired entréesRestaurant meals

  The menu includes beef short ribs, katsu chicken, hekka, rice bowls, curry bowls, teriyaki grilled tofu, white rice, green salad with sesame dressing, and macaroni salad. The range combines Hawaiian comfort-food references with Japanese and Korean influences.

• Drinks and shaved iceBeverages and dessert

  Ate-Oh-Ate serves cocktails, beer, and shaved ice, extending the island-oriented concept beyond savory dishes and supporting its casual, social restaurant positioning.

• 2020Branded golfing discs with Nemo Design

  Portland metropolitan area

  Ate-Oh-Ate partnered with Nemo Design to sell branded golfing discs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Outcome. The merchandise initiative provided an additional income stream while conventional restaurant operations were disrupted.

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• 2019Tarochos for Portland Mercury Nacho Week

  Portland, Oregon

  For Portland Mercury's 2019 Nacho Week, Ate-Oh-Ate created tarochos: taro chips topped with Kalua pig, Longboard kimchi queso, green onion, and shaved radish.

  Outcome. The limited promotional dish extended the restaurant's Hawaiian and Pacific flavor profile into a local food-media event.

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• 2024Expand into BeavertonStrategy

  The owners sought to extend the locally concentrated restaurant chain within the Portland metropolitan area.

  What changed. A third Ate-Oh-Ate location began operating in Beaverton on April 15 in a former Big's Chicken space.

  Aftermath. The expansion brought the chain to three locations across Portland and Beaverton.

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• 2020Shift toward takeout and delivery during COVID-19Strategy

  Pandemic restrictions and changes in customer behavior reduced the role of conventional dine-in service.

  What changed. Ate-Oh-Ate offered takeout and delivery and developed rice bowls and sandwiches suited to off-premises consumption.

  Aftermath. The restaurant maintained an operating model centered partly on portable meals during the pandemic period.

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• 2016Expand with a smaller neighborhood-format locationStrategy

  After operating the original East Burnside restaurant, the owners pursued a second site in Portland's Woodstock neighborhood.

  What changed. The team opened a compact, approximately 600-square-foot location with seating for about 48 and a somewhat smaller menu.

  Aftermath. The Woodstock restaurant became the brand's second Portland location and extended its neighborhood reach.

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• 2024Ate-Oh-Ate opens a Beaverton location

  A third location began operating in Beaverton on April 15 in a space formerly occupied by Big's Chicken.

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• 2020Ate-Oh-Ate adapts its service for the COVID-19 pandemic

  The restaurant offered takeout and delivery, with pandemic-era meals including rice bowls and sandwiches featuring pork shoulder, Korean short ribs, grilled chicken, and tofu.

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• 2020Ate-Oh-Ate sells branded golfing discs during the pandemic

  The restaurant partnered with Nemo Design on branded golfing discs as an additional source of income during the pandemic.

  Campaign
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• 2016Ate-Oh-Ate opens a second Portland location in Woodstock

  The co-owners opened a smaller Woodstock neighborhood location with a somewhat reduced menu.

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1. Ate-Oh-Ate
2. Ate-Oh-Ate at the Food Network