Q. Where did McDonald's place you after you finished your management training?

A. I finished my MBA and I became a store manager at the School Street McDonald's. Then they moved me to Maui. From Maui I moved to Southern California in L.A. From L.A. I moved to Bakersfield, then back to L.A. Then I moved back to Hawai'i in 1984 and I was given the responsibility of being in charge of Asia/Pacific operations. Prior to me moving back to Hawai'i that job was done out of Chicago. When you get a chance to go back to a place you love, you go back.

Q. When did you decide to become a franchise owner?

A. McDonald's was channeling all the people on the career path back to the home office in Chicago. I saw the handwriting on the wall so in 1987 I decided to switch hats and become a franchise owner.

Q. What was your first store as an owner/operator?

A. I came back here to the Fort Street Mall. I guess I was destined to be downtown. It was a real déjà vu. In 1988 I picked up the Enchanted Lakes store. In 1990 I picked up Waimanalo. And then over time I opened on Queen Street, Dole Cannery, Ala Moana and Kailua.

Q. How has the landscape of the fast food industry in Hawai'i changed since you got into the business?

A. It goes through cycles. In 1987 it was very good, and into '88 and '89. Then in 1990 the business landscape in Hawai'i went south on us. The general economy affects us. Even though we cater to the general masses and we're not as impacted as the high end, nevertheless, disposable income is disposable income. So in the 1990s there was a big low for a good period of time — we went along with the state economy. In the last three, four years, things have been very positive for us here in Hawai'i. Now that the economy is on the upswing, we really are enjoying the benefits of all the hard work we put in.

Q. How has the market share of McDonald's in Hawai'i performed during that time?

A. Our market share is growing. In the last three or four years McDonald's management took a totally different position. They used to grow by just putting in new stores. But you ended up pirating from each other. So the focus for McDonald's system in recent years has been to, instead of growing by the numbers, grow the business in each of the restaurants. That means focusing on the products and customers. And really that makes a huge difference. Most of our competitors have struggled in the last four, five years big time. We've definitely made huge inroads market share-wise. In Hawai'i we're very dominant.

Q. How much flexibility do McDonald's' franchisees have in terms of what they can put on their menu.?

A. On the corporate side, they're very, very tight. The keeper of the keys will always be very restrictive because the McDonald's system is based on selling a limited menu and doing it very well. You can't be all things to all people, but we want to be something to most of the people and we're going to do damn well at that. So whenever we want do something different we have to sell it at a lot of different levels. We're very fortunate that we have a regional office here in Hawai'i. The lady running it, Veronica Kaneko, happens to be a local girl.

Q. What kinds of local items have you been able to get on your menu?

A. In Hawai'i we have saimin, Portuguese sausage, rice. We even have Spam and fruit punch. In Asia, they served taro pies at McDonald's so we brought them here and they've been a huge success for us. This is our second go-round for taro pies.

Q. There's been a push at McDonald's to convey a healthier image, including things like putting more salads on the menu and adding a fruit option for the kids' meals. Do you think this will have a real impact on public health?

A. It has a great impact already on the public health and perception of what we do. In my 30-some years with McDonald's, we used to sell salads and we didn't do very well. Now with the boomer generation ... every time we go for a physical every year we find out that things are not the same like they used to be. So now, people are educated and so in this latest go-round when we introduced our salads, it was very, very successful. It was the same thing when we went to the all-white-meat chicken nuggets. We also put in the premium chicken sandwiches with the leaf lettuce. A few years ago you'd think of McDonald's as a purely hamburger, beef place. Today, we probably sell as much or more chicken than most of the chicken businesses out there.

Q. McDonald's hires a lot of people who are entering the work force for the first time. Is it challenging training people with limited job skills?

A. McDonald's is a very unique company. We give all types of people an opportunity. We are usually the employer that is the first job for a lot of people. We have a culture, a climate and training program that if you have the right desire you can succeed. We allow so many people to have a chance to grow. Systemwide, maybe 80 or 90 percent of our restaurant managers started their first job at McDonald's. You can be an MBA that comes in like me that can be successful, or you can have barely a high school degree, or GED. But sheer desire will get you an opportunity to grow.

Q. What has the hiring climate been like with the low unemployment rate and high demand for workers?

A. It is difficult, but my restaurants are better staffed today than they've ever been in my career as a restaurant owner. We are better in terms of taking care of our people. We are better in terms of understanding the people issues. Twenty years ago somebody like me would never have somebody on their staff that handles HR. Today, if I don't have Crizalee (human resources director), I'm dead because its a very critical part of the business world.