The Pflueger name might no longer top at least one of the family’s car dealerships. The trade name Pacific Honda was registered as a car dealership by J.P. Automobiles Inc., owner of Pflueger Honda, in October.
After decades of successful automotive business in Hawaii dating back to 1963, the family name has been in turmoil given patriarch James Pflueger’s legal troubles, including the recent tax case in which he was exonerated and the still-pending case involving the deaths of seven people whose homes were washed away when the Ka Loko Dam burst on Kauai in 2006.
"Who do I call to get my reputation back?" Pflueger asked on the day of the verdict.
J.P. Automobiles President Alan Pflueger could not be reached regarding the company’s plans for the Pacific Honda name.
The younger Pflueger, his executive assistant Julie Kam, Chief Financial Officer Randall Kurata and Los Angeles accountant Dennis Duban pleaded guilty to charges relating to the elder Pflueger’s tax fraud and conspiracy case.
New Franchise
Longtime food-and-beverage guy Robert Carlisle is soon to become a restaurateur with Hawaii’s first Russo’s Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen, in Ewa Beach.
"I did 10 years in the Army as a cook," he said. Having worked in the food service industry since then and given development and the spread of the population to West Oahu, "I think the timing is perfect."
An area resident, he has seen the need for a slightly upscale, dine-in Italian restaurant with pizzas, pastas, soups and sandwiches (not to mention desserts) over which families can linger without having to shout.
Doing his research since about 2007, he chose Russo’s Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen franchise because of the coal-fired oven and the pizazz it adds to whatever is cooked therein.
"It’ll be the first coal-fired oven on the island, from what I’m hearing," he told TheBuzz. "It’s a totally new concept."
There are other restaurants where customers can see their made-to-order pies put into an oven, but Russo’s is a new concept for the islands.
He chose it based on "the way I would be coming in as a customer," he said.
The restaurant is planned for Laulani Village, at the corner of Fort Weaver Road and Keaunui Drive, where Safeway is landowner and anchor tenant. Carlisle plans to open in August.
Carlisle praised the parent company’s franchising operation.
"They support military veterans. They’ve helped me get my financing and have showed me the way to start a business. … It’s a godsend," he said.
Carlisle has worked directly with founder Anthony Russo in planning the Hawaii location.
Russo said he is "thrilled to have Robert on board with us," describing Carlisle as a family man who embodies the values on which the restaurants are founded.
"Robert’s military background and ability to follow a proven system makes him the perfect fit for the franchise opportunity." he said.
The restaurant will serve lunch and dinner with the possibility of weekend breakfast service down the line.
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Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
