It's true. Pensacola is getting a Pounders Hawaiian Grill. Here's everything we know

It’s happening. The Okaloosa County-favorite fast-casual restaurant, Pounders Hawaiian Grill, is coming to Pensacola next year.

“The rumors are true,” Pounders co-owner Kakela Peters confirmed to the News Journal on Monday. “We hope to be open in March at 7175 N. Davis Highway. We're excited to soon be in Pensacola.”

The restaurant has created a cult-following in Okaloosa County for its fast-casual Hawaiian cooking, and Pensacolians have been hoping for a closer location ever since. Here’s what you need to know so far.

What’s on the Pounders Hawaiian Grill menu?

In line with the fast casual concept, diners can assemble their own plates with variables such as size, meat and sides.

Let’s start by breaking down the meat options. The first being the teriyaki chicken, which the Pounders family claim is “what they come for.” The boneless chicken thighs are marinated with a house-made teriyaki sauce overnight before being grilled. Other options include the tender, thinly sliced grilled steak, smoky slow-roasted kalua pig and juicy garlic chicken.

Then comes the sides, where customers can choose a white rice, brown rice, macaroni salad, leafy greens and cabbage.

What is the service like at Pounders?

Pounders operates as a counter-style service where numbers are assigned to meal tickets and runners bring the plates to the table. However, employees are known for their "ohana" or family-style hospitality.

How did Pounders get started?

Pounders started out as a food truck in 2015, which led to a physical location in Crestview in 2017, followed by a Niceville location in 2019. The Pensacola location will be the restaurants’ third brick-and-mortar when it opens in 2024.

The backstory: Crestview family's Hawaiian food truck expands into restaurant

How is Pounders rated?

Pounders’ Crestview location maintains a 4.8-star rating on Yelp, highly praised for its good food and service, even including a review from a Hawaii native that says the place provides him with a taste of home.

How did the Pounder’s concept originate?

The restaurant states that the meat plate model dates back to the 1880s as a “popular midday meal option for hungry workers on Hawaii’s pineapple and sugar plantations” and workers packed their lunch with rice and leftover meat from the night. By the 1930s, the mobile “lunch wagons” popped up to cater the laborers with meals served on compartmentalized paper plates. By the 1950s, the plantation era ended, but the paper plate lunch style remained in restaurants across Hawaii. So, although the Pounders concept is nothing new, it provides a taste of traditional Hawaiian culture.

How can I keep up to date with the Pensacola location?

For up-to-date information, follow the Pounders Hawaiian Grill Facebook page and website.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pounders Hawaiian Grill slated for Pensacola in 2024. What we know