By COLIN M. STEWART
By COLIN M. STEWART
Tribune-Herald Staff Writer
East Hawaii residents can now get a taste of good old-fashioned Southern comfort food.
When 28-year Hilo resident Dean Wyatt’s brother, Shedric Green, moved to Hilo a few months ago, the pair — who hail from Texas — discussed their shared love of food. The brothers grew up in a “matriarchal home,” they said, run by women who loved to cook.
“These women had sons, and they required them all to be self-sufficient,” Wyatt said. “Cooking was always big in my family. My grandmother gave us the love for it. For her, it was an expression of self. Over the years, I’ve used it as a form of self therapy.”
Wyatt dabbles in various cuisines, with a special interest in making chowders, he said.
“It’s interesting. Every culture that has a poor class, they have one form of chowder or another,” he said.
Meanwhile, Green is the meat smoking wizard.
“He can smoke anything, and it’s the best you’ve ever had,” said Wyatt’s wife, Rose.
“I love to barbecue,” Green added. “I cook it all. My mind just goes some place else.”
Together, the brothers decided that they would use their talents to bring the classic Southern dishes they grew up with and introduce them to Hilo.
Located in the old Aloha Luigi’s building on Keawe Street, Popolo’s — named so as a tongue-in-cheek embrace of the Hawaiian slang term for black people — offers flavors that are hard to find on this side of the island: BBQ chicken, chopped pork and ribs. Gumbo, soup and chowder. Biscuits, corn bread and hush puppies. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Grits. Fried chicken and waffles. Chicken fried steak. Po’Boy sandwiches.
Green gets started with his smoker grill at around 5 a.m., he said. That gives the meat time to cook properly — low and slow — and absorb plenty of flavorful smoke.
“The ribs just fall right off the bone,” Rose Wyatt said.
The brothers said they have high hopes for the restaurant, as soul food is a market that isn’t well represented on the isle.
“We started by selling barbecue by the side of the road, over by Puainako,” Green said. “We did it for about a month and a half. Just to see how people would react. We did really well.”
From there, they had to convince the owner of the Aloha Luigi’s building that theirs was a viable business plan.
“There were about 11 or 12 other businesses that wanted to rent here,” Wyatt said. “But he liked our proposal. … We’re looking at using the back part here for some live music, and other events. We’re fixing up the garden.”
The business has been going through a soft opening since April 6, Green said, to work out some of the kinks.
“We’re doing fairly well, but sometimes we sell out of things,” he said. “We’re still learning how much we need, how quickly we go through things. We’re working on getting our skills down. It’s tough planning for a crowd.”
Rose added that customers have been patient while the new business finds its footing.
“They’ve really been good to us,” she said. “They’re very understanding. We want people to feel good when they walk out the door.”
Making sure you have a good product and good service is the main goal, Green added.
“Without that, even I wouldn’t want to come back,” he said.
The restaurant is currently only accepting cash and checks, Wyatt said, but will be able to take credit cards in the near future. The eatery’s hours are also a bit iffy at the moment, but the partners expect that by the end of the month they’ll be open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. for Sunday brunch.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.