Dayton Asato, 61 grew up in one small apartment in one small lane between Fern and Date Street in Mō‘ili‘ili. His family rented da apartment next door too for use as their warehouse for their family’s KC Drive Inn restaurant. As one kid, he loved working for da family business cuz das how he earned all his spending money so he could catch movies with his friends. Sadly their iconic restaurant wen close in 2005 aftah one run of ova seventy years. Hawai‘i’s Local people thought dey wuz nevah going get for grine [eat] KC Drive Inn’s signature KC Waffle Dog eva again. Braddah Dayton thought that too until one solution wen go happen upon him.
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Lee Tonouchi (LT): What school you went? What year you grad?
Dayton Asato (DA): I went McKinley. I went through the whole system, Lunalillo [Elementary], Washington [Intermediate], McKinley [High School]. And I grad 1981.
LT: What your ethnic backgrounds?
DA: Okinawan.
LT: How you identify as? Local Okinawan? Uchinānchu? Okinawan American? Asian American? Nikkei?
DA: Probably Okinawan American.
LT: What village you from?
DA: My grandfather’s side is Kitanakagusuku. I’m not really sure about the other side.
LT: For people who dunno, you can try explain what is one KC Waffle Dog?
DA: So waffle dog is similar to what the mainland people know of as corn dog but instead of being deep fried it’s baked in a specially designed waffle iron. And the dog is a Bar S Brand pork and chicken blend hot dog. We’ve been using the same brand of hot dog for fifty or sixty years.
And the reason why we stuck with the same brand is because it’s very durable. And so with the amount of heat and pressure that the machine causes, if you don’t get a durable casing, then it can explode in the machine.
LT: You like talk about your magic sauce?
DA: We have a special relish. A lot of restaurants have their own secret sauce. We never came up with a name for ours. We use it as a side condiment for the waffle dog. When people ask what’s in it, I tell them I have no idea what the recipe is because everything’s by sight. But basically it’s relish, onions, mayo, and mustard. It’s real simple, but you need to get the right mixture.
LT: Used to get one commercial long time ago wea Local comedian Frank DeLima sang one song about all da creative kine tings you can do with one waffle hot dog. You wen eva use one KC Waffle Dog for anyting else besides eating?
DA: (Laughing) Uhhhh. . . so I went to Japan to promote KC Waffle Dogs and we used it to illustrate that large, scary birds close to the beach enjoy waffle dogs as well. So I guess “bird lure” is my answer.
LT: Hahaha. So what da secret origin of da legendary KC Waffle Dog?
DA: It was started by two Haole [Caucasian] guys named George Knapp and Elwood Christensen who opened up the first drive-in restaurant in Honolulu and they served waffle hot dogs at their KC Drive Inn. So they were making waffle dogs since around 1929. And then my grandpa Jiro Asato who was a manager there, he was offered the chance to buy the restaurant along with the KC Waffle Dogs rights in 1934 for $350. And in those days it’s the Great Depression so that equates to like millions now, right? And my grandparents couldn’t pay it all at once, so they would be on a payment plan to Mr. Knapp and Mr. Christensen.
Originally their waffle machine was American made. The ones we’ve been using come from Japan. Over the years we’ve refined the process and we’re on our fourth generation waffle machine now.
LT: You can pinpoint da moment you wen realize your family legacy wuz important to you?
DA: I think I kind of always knew legacy was important only because I was third generation in the family business. So I saw how hard my father James Asato and his siblings worked the restaurant. It kind of told me that this was something that was important enough for the family to all work.
My dad had actually moved to Los Angeles after graduating high school. And he had a promising career in computers with IBM. And when my grandpa fell ill, my dad came back and immediately went back to the family’s restaurant to help.
LT: Does that mean you already stay putting your next generation childrens to work?
DA: My son Andrew and daughter Angela know all phases of the business. You know, I remember having a bad battle with sciatica and they were almost forced to help me. So they know how to make the batter. They know how to make the waffle dog in the machine. If they had to, they could do it. They could step in if I needed them to.
LT: How come you tink so many early Okinawan families in Hawai‘i started restaurants?
DA: You know, that’s a good question. But yeah, it’s really strange. My entire extended family has a restaurant legacy. My grandmother’s siblings, four out of five ran restaurants. The one who didn’t lived in Japan, so that’s why she didn’t. I often think Okinwans had restaurants because we eat a lot. And so it was a way for us to eat and make a little money too.
LT: Currently what brick and mortar stores regularly sell KC Waffle Dogs?
DA: So currently it’s wholesale. I license it to two places that make it daily, Hawai‘i’s Favorite Kitchens next to Rainbow Drive-In in Kapahulu and then Da Ohana Kine Snack Shop on South King Street. And we do a lot of fundraisers.
LT: You can try explain your fundraisers?
DA: It’s super simple. I’ll make all the supplies and have the machines available for organizations who want to do fundraisers. The base rate right now is two dollars and fifty cents per waffle dog and then the group makes it and has an opportunity to sell it. The suggested retail is five dollars.
LT: You wuz doing fundraisers from right aftah da restaurant wen close. Dis wuz your master plan on how for keep KC Waffle Dogs going?
DA: I would like to say it was all my brilliant idea, but it kind of just happened. My initial goal after the restaurant closed in 2005 was that I wanted to keep doing the KC Waffle Dogs and also find a way to give back. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do that, but I wanted to give back to the community and thank people who had supported KC Drive Inn for so many years.
And then somehow things fell into place. It was the beginning of 2006 at the New Year’s Ohana Festival at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i. Our restaurant had closed several months earlier and people were so sad because they thought they would never get another chance to have a KC Waffle Dog. But I got asked to do a fundraiser for the JCCH event and I think we must’ve sold like maybe 1,200 Waffle Dogs! It was crazy! And so that’s how it kind of started. I started offering a good program for fundraising and it was all word of mouth. It kind of just grew from there. Over the years we’ve helped hundreds of organizations.
LT: How come you tink Hawai‘i’s Local people love da KC Waffle Dog so much?
DA: My friend Joy [Shimabukuro], you know Joy of Joy of Crafting Joy, the celebrity, her favorite part of the KC Waffle Dog is the crispy edges. I’m just randomly mentioning her because I like to use her name all the time. When I say I know Joy of Joy of Crafting, it does open doors for me.
LT: Hahahaha. I know Joy. I interviewed her before for Discover Nikkei.
DA: But seriously, I think Local people love it because we’re a culture of food blending here in Hawai‘i. That’s what I think. You know, waffle, sweet. Hot dog, salty. So combine the two and it’s perfection.
LT: Hey, das kind of like Joy! Sweet and salty! Maybe das why Local people love her show so much!
DA: (Laughing) Maybe. That’s so funny.
LT: You get any plans for expansion? I notice you been bringing KC Waffle Dogs to Asia.
DA: I just wanted to try it out. I did some events in Japan and then I was fortunate enough to be able to hook up with Jimmy’s Bakery in Okinawa and then do a KC Waffle Dog pop-up at one of their stores. So these weren’t huge moneymakers, but the experience of doing the product in anywhere else other than Hawai‘i is always appealing to me. My next one is Vegas. We’re doing a fundraiser for UNLV’s Hawai‘i Club.
LT: Who you grateful to in journey to waffle hot dog success?
DA: Firstly to my relatives. To my grandma and grandpa for taking a chance. And then my dad and his siblings for working long and hard. Second of all, to Mr. Knapp and Mr. Christensen. And that’s why we have the KC in our name and I won’t ever let the name go. As long as I’m making it, it’s always gonna be KC Waffle Dog, to honor them.
LT: You wuz close to your grandparents?
DA: So grandpa had passed away in 1960 and I was born in 1963. So I never got to know him. I just adored my grandma, Agnes [Gusukuma] Asato. My grandmother always said to me, “Dayton you need to be nice to people because people are nice to you.” These are the words I continue to live by.
LT: So da only reason you stay nice to me is cuz your grandma said you had to?
DA: (Laughing) Pretty much. Nah, I’m kidding! But I have so many loving memories of my grandma. I hear so many stories of how she treated the customers and it’s like unreal. I don’t know how many times people would say, “I remember going to KC and not having money. And then your grandma would say, Nah, don’t you worry. Just pay us when you can.” She was just the kindest and sweetest person. I’m glad to try and carry on the legacy. Hopefully, she would be proud.
LT: Nowdays lotta Local companies like for do collabs. So I bravely like suggest one Asato X Asato collab wea da ting would be one KC waffle filled with Asato Family HOT DOG flavor sherbet!!
DA: (Laughing) I actually just talked to the owner, Neale [Asato] from Asato Family Shop about that.
LT: Whaaaaat?!!?
DA: His shop’s so popular. I wish we were related, but we’re not. I was at his shop one day and I’m much older than him. We were talking and it turned out when he was in the third grade at ‘Āina Haina Elementary, he said I showed him and the other students how to make and sell KC Waffle Dogs and we had our own little pretend restaurant. Yeah, so now we’re gonna do a collab.
LT: I hope NOT with hot dog flavor sherbet, ah!? Cuz I wuz joking about hot dog flavor.
DA: It’ll probably be our KC ono ono shake flavor, which might be either peanut butter or peanut butter & chocolate.
LT: Ho, das going be winnahs! K, my final question. If one KC Waffle Dog got into one battle with one corndog, who would win and why?
DA: KC Waffle Dog would be victorious!! Because he has more endurance due to the fact that he is healthily baked instead of being deep fried!
© 2025 Lee A. Tonouchi
