In 1961, in the midst of major economic changes in Hawaii, they took a chance and opened Rainbow Drive-In in Kapahulu, a small, local community at the entrance to Waikiki. They opened serving 50-cent chili and rice plates, $1 BBQ beef plates, 25-cent hamburgers and 14-cent fries. The menu and food were geared towards the working person and the Waikiki beach crowd. With that, they not only served hearty portions of food at a reasonable price, but they also insisted on quick, attentive service because they knew the working person only had a limited lunch period. The Ifuku’s kept their prices low and counted on the volume of sales to keep their venture going.

Seiju and Ayako’s philosophy was to serve plates with generous portions of hearty, simple food with two scoops of rice and a side of macaroni salad at a reasonable price. This continues to be the restaurant philosophy today.

The original Rainbow Drive-In is still a family owned and operated business, now with not one, but four locations. Every day, locals and visitors from around the world dine at the restaurant for big, hearty meals… the classic, Hawaii-style plate lunch.