Even though it’s been open since Jan. 1 of this year, a lot of local residents aren’t aware that there’s an authentic Hawaiian restaurant in Licking.
That’s right – there’s a restaurant in Texas County where Hawaiian food is being professionally cooked and served. It’s called Island Style Hawaiian Restaurant, and it’s located smack in the middle of Licking in the old white building just north of the intersection of Highway 32 and Main Street (formerly the Coffee Pot and other eating establishments).
Not only does the place dish up authentic island style cuisine, but the dishes are produced by an authentic chef: owner Monica Mace, who grew up in the small plantation community of Ookala (oh-oh-kahla) on the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii.
“It’s the food of my childhood, and things that my grandmother taught me to cook, and things that we miss being on the mainland,” Mace said. “A lot of people who come here are shocked, because they were thinking ‘if it’s in Licking, it cannot be authentic Hawaiian.’”
Mace’s family roots include her great grandfather moving from Portugal to the Big Island and obtaining a 63-acre tract during land-grant days. The food she serves at Island Style is all made from scratch.
“We grew up hunting and gathering, so we always made things from scratch,” she said.
After graduating from high school, Mace joined the Army and came to the mainland in the early 1990s. She began eight years of military service working at the Pentagon for five years.
“There I was, this little Hawaiian girl working at the Pentagon,” Mace said.
She later earned a college degree in agriculture (with a business minor) and eventually ended up employed for more than two years in the finance department at Fort Leonard Wood. Prior to that, she met her husband Jim – a 20-year army veteran – at Kansas’ Fort Riley in 2008.
Mace said the idea to open a restaurant was in large part born of peoples’ reactions to her home cooking.
“We would rarely eat out because there wouldn’t be anything we really liked,” she said. “But people would come to our house and say, ‘oh my gosh, you should have a restaurant – we should be able to find this food.’”
The food people find at Island Style spans a wide range, from the truly Hawaiian to the more Missourian. Mace said she technically has four menus: authentic Hawaiian, breakfast, kids and “Haole” (pronounced “how-lee,” the term is used by Hawaiian natives to describe non-natives), and except for orders from the kids menu, portions are large.
Choices in the first category include Kalua Pig (a tender pork dish slow cooked while wrapped in banana leaves that has no connection with the sugary liquor that bears the same name) and Hawaiian macaroni salad (made with potato and island flavoring). On the other end of the scale, Mace’s Haole menu features items familiar to any food-loving American, like big cheeseburgers, breakfast sausage and other hearty selections.
In between are Hawaiian favorites like the Loco Moco, an island dish constructed with rice topped with hamburger patties and fried eggs, and smothered with homemade brown gravy. There’s even a Haole Loco Moco built atop biscuits instead of rice, and lots of other Mace creations like Portuguese sausage (that results from a two-day process), teriyaki chicken and beef, and many others.
“We have a variety of things you won’t find in other places,” Mace said. “But we like for everyone who comes here to find something they’ll really like and it’s best to come here hungry.”
There’s even flavorful Kona coffee direct from Hawaii.
“And it’s only 75 cents a cup,” Mace said.
Kalua Pig would customarily be cooked in a pit of hot rocks, but in order to meet health regulations Mace had a special smoker built in back of the restaurant.
“It smokes for 12 hours, and I try to marinate the teriyaki beef for a couple of days,” she said. “But everything we serve is totally made from scratch.”
Although local awareness of Island Style has been slow to build, Mace said the place isn’t a complete secret, thanks in large part to Facebook and word of mouth.
“We have a log book at the front of the restaurant, and we know we consistently have people drive over 100 miles to come here,” she said.
Island Style is a family project that involves Mace’s children working in different capacities, and even her two-year-old grandson Bradley, who more or less acts as the house greeter. Mace said her restaurant is the sole authentic Hawaiian restaurant in all of the Show Me State.
“We did an online search and tried to find another one, but there wasn’t,” she said.
Multiple factors contributed to Mace’s decision to open her restaurant in Licking.
“This area is so beautiful and it reminds me of Hawaii in many ways,” she said. “It has all of the water features, it’s very green, and things just grow wild here – you can’t stop them from growing. It’s just gorgeous.
“There’s also a pretty big retirement community of Hawaiians in this area, and Licking is like a time trap, just like the Big Island.”
Mace’s choice of Licking also includes some basic island style reasoning.
“I know I could do a lot better in St. Louis, or St. Robert, or something like that where there’s a huge population,” she said. “But Hawaiian attitude and style is not ‘rat race.’ I thought by choosing a town like Licking, when people feel like they have to have that island fix, they have to leave that rat race and come to where they’re going to relax and enjoy the food.”
Jim and Monica also ran a monster truck called Hawg Wild on the professional circuit for several years, with Jim at the wheel. He said he’s happy to see Monica doing something that really has her in her element.
“This has been a dream of hers for a long time and I’m glad she’s making it happen,” he said.
Island Style delivers within the Licking area. Hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The phone number is 573-674-1234.
“We like to have people to get outside of their comfort zone if they’re exploring Hawaiian food or stay in their comfort zone if they’re looking for Hawaiian food,” Mace said. “If they want American food, we have plenty of that, and it’s very, very good.
“To cook for other people is an honor and involves a lot of trust. I will do everything possible to deserve that trust.”
To cook for other people is an honor and involves a lot of trust. I will do everything possible to deserve that trust.”