Maro Molteni and Royal Hawaiian
Mariano “Maro” Molteni is the owner and head chef of Royal Hawaiian located in Laguna Beach, California. Molteni has been working in the restaurant business for over 25 years and has owned Royal Hawaiian since 2019. He is constantly changing up the menu and making sure he doesn’t get bored behind the grill and so that each guest has an experience to remember.
Hadfield Group met with Maro at Royal Hawaiian to design and implement a custom point-of-sale and payments solution. Our system now connects every moving part of his restaurant, from employee management and scheduling to payroll and online ordering. Recently we decided to add additional handheld POS devices so that the servers can put in orders and take payments right at the table.
“I had a POS system before, but when I met Hadfield Group, what I liked is the same family I feel in my restaurant, I feel it from them. I always work with people I know, I prefer that. I use all small companies for produce, never the big companies. I like to use all small companies. If I save money and it’s good for you too, then yeah we have a business. If I have to pay you double, even if I love you, I would say “I love you, but that’s beside the business.” When you save money it’s good, and Paul helped me save money. The value he had to what he gave me is why I like it. ” Molteni said.
Royal Hawaiian has been around since 1947 and has featured classic Hawaiian dishes and décor since. Though it has changed hands several times, the signature cocktail, the Lapu Lapu has remained on the menu. “We use the original recipe on it’s a classic, good drink. It brings people memories of a lot of things. So, I think it’s one of the best things we have,” he said.
When he first took over, he wanted to bring back the charcoal broiler because he knew how to use it. This really gives things a more unique flavor compared to when using a gas grill. “We always have good quality, local, and you know, healthy food. What I want is that people leave here feeling good about what they eat and not like “oh, this is so heavy.” So, I keep the menu simple with a lot of flavor, because I put as much I can on the wood grill, even the veggies.”
Maro Molteni’s favorite part of being a business owner is following the schedule, though it can be difficult because he ends up working three times more. “By the end of the night, I say “We made it another day, people were happy, everybody’s happy, and tomorrow we go at it again!”