Over the past few years, since Roy’s opened Downtown at 8th and Figueroa, I’d guess I’ve eaten there around two hundred times. The sheer size of this number could lead one to believe that Roy’s is somehow commonplace—it’s not. I love food, I could have eaten anywhere, Roy’s is simply that good. And I should point out here that while Roy’s is a chain each Roy’s does offer dishes that are unique to each and every location—so consider this a story about Roy’s Downtown and Roy’s Downtown only.
The story of Roy’s Downtown requires Roy’s to be considered, like Staples Center and The Standard Hotel before it and Ralphs Market and Bottega Louie after it, to be a game changer. I came to the story early on. Literally, when the space was under construction and I ran into Leslie Kaden who was working out of a temporary construction office (Now a private dining room) in the back of the space. Leslie as I recall was in charge of something to do with wine and what not. Frankly, what I recall with greater clarity was how nice she was. And after running into her a few more times she invited me into the office of humble beginnings to meet the rest of the management team responsible for opening Roy’s Downtown.
It’s funny now to think back—how serious Matty was in those days. Matty, is the managing partner of Roy’s Downtown. Sharply dressed with a ponytail and a history with Roy Yamaguchi, the founder of Roy’s, that dates back almost twenty years, impressive under any circumstance, but particularly impressive given Matty looks all of thirty-years-old. I remember asking him something to the effect, “What, did you start working for Roy when you were ten or something?” He laughed and probably wondered why there was a writer hanging out in his construction office. I was writing a little 620 page novel titled “Stan Lerner’s Criminal” back then.
Well, Roy’s opened and became one of the most successful restaurants in our city and probably the country for that matter. My novel came out, earned rave reviews and won the Grand Prize at the Hollywood Book Festival. And Matty got used to me always being around—and eating most of the time. But more than this intersection of restaurant, restaurateur, and novelist is the sum. By sum I mean that Roy’s, Matty, and your humble writer along with tens of thousands of others became part of a community, which blessedly is greater than the sum of its parts. So, with our story now firmly standing on a foundation of a vibrant and successful community the extraordinary can now take place.
I stopped in one afternoon a few weeks ago at the DCBID’s Marketing Round Table Event—several restaurants were represented, I of course was there on behalf of downtownster. I should mention here that if you own or operate a business in Downtown and you’re not involved with DCBID and going to its’ events you’re absolutely missing out on opportunities to grow your business and meet some very good people. After the formal part of the Round Table I was chatting it up with a few of the cool people in attendance—including Aya from Roy’s.
“I’ve been wanting to do a story on Roy’s, I’ve just been waiting for something out of the ordinary to write about,” I said.
“How about May Day? We’re having a party and Roy himself is going to be there.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“And there’ll be hula girls dancing—“
“Put me down for two. I’ll be there for sure.”
Later, it struck me that Roy’s was the only restaurant I knew of doing something for this pre-Christian Holiday. I know most people think of May Day as being a Celtic celebration of the weather turning nice. But the first May Day was actually celebrated in Rome. It celebrated the Goddess Flora the Goddess of flowers and to this day it is a tradition to give flowers on May Day. So with a bit of reflection and the help of a poet you can see how this caught on in Hawaii.
In Hawaii, May Day is also known as Lei Day, and is normally set aside as a day to celebrate island culture in general and native Hawaiian culture in particular. Continue reading ROY’S — STARING ROY YAMAGUCHI AS HIMSELF