Jack DeMar – A Pokepiphany

PONO ONO Righteous Poke was sprawled in big white letters across the restaurant’s shop window on Chicago Avenue in Evanston – just one block away from Northwestern.

For many people, ‘poke’ is not in their vernacular. Jack DeMar, 24, knew this as he opened up his poke restaurant and knew he needed this in the title. Every other poke place had a forgettable name, but he wanted a title that would catch people off-guard and get people talking. His sister, who lives in Hawaii, suggested the name Pono Ono. Pono has many definitions, but in general, it is the sense of doing the right thing or being righteous. Ono, on the other hand, is slang for “this is fire” or “this is delicious.” Jack said it sounded fun and rhymed and, therefore, it stuck.

Jack grew up in a “restaurant family.” His family has owned the same restaurant for over 50 years and his grandfather had owned dozens of coffee shops before then. At 14 years old, Jack was already working as a cook, then moved on to serving, and finally managing.

“It’s in my blood,” Jack said when referring to restaurant life.

Jack knew that he wanted to open his own restaurant from a young age rather than just manage his family’s business. He wanted something that he could call his own. That’s why he studied business and entrepreneurship at Northeastern University in Boston for two years before deciding to work in the field again to get more experience.

When Jack decided he did want to open a place, he knew a 5-star restaurant was not an option, given his young age and limited resources. He decided that fast casual was his best choice.  

He had a pokepiphany while visiting his mom in Hawaii.

After eating poke for eight days straight, he realized that poke was perfect. It was healthy, sustainable, raw, convenient, and, at the time, was not readily available outside of Hawaii. However, he had already committed to an opportunity in Boston and decided to pursue it instead of immediately opening up a shop.

Jack said by the time he went back to Chicago to open up his restaurant, many poke places had popped up all over the city, but the year in Boston had given him time to create a plan and develop his ideas for his restaurant. His family helped him find the perfect location in Evanston that met all his needs. He said while he was busy doing all the “fun stuff” like choosing the menu and the interior aesthetic, his parents, with all of their years of experience, were doing the boring business side.

“[My family is] hugely supportive. I couldn’t do it without them,” Jack said.

Although competition now existed for him, Jack repeated this saying to himself: “The first explorers catch the arrows.” This meant that he would learn from the challenges that the first-wave poke shop owners had faced and would hopefully make better decisions as a result. In this way, he viewed his “late” opening in December of last year as a positive event.

For example, Jack saw pitfalls in the traditional build-your-own poke bowl model that other poke shops in the area were using. He noted that it led to a slower customer experience and one that could result in making non-tasty poke bowls. He chose to bring his expertise into the matter and created an original menu with set options – one of the reasons his shop is unique.

“Something like sushi-grade fish deserves more of a chef’s touch,” Jack said.

One of Jack’s priorities is to look for customer experience. If a customer wants to customize their bowl, he will make it how they like it.

Although Jack actively looked for ways to improve his business, there was one thing he couldn’t control – the weather. The biggest challenge for him was the opening in December. It was right around the coldest time of the year and also just days before all the Northwestern students left for break — business was slow.

“It was a really boring first month,” Jack said as he laughed.

He managed to spin this seemingly negative occurrence in a positive direction once again as he said that the first two months allowed him to work out all the kinks and really get the shop ready. Jack said that the space became really busy when the weather was warmer outside, as well as drawing more Evanstonian customers as opposed to all the Northwestern students he usually gets. He said he is waiting for the weather to rise above 50 degrees to see the place in full swing.

Jack hopes that there will be room for expansion in the future as there can be a real possibility that eating poke bowls is just a social trend. He said he doesn’t want poke to be one of those fads but it seems to be already pushing in that direction. He recalls a story of a poke shop which had to close all of their stores just days after the grand opening of the sixth one.

“These things can come and go, you know?” Jack said. “I have to validate for myself whether or not there is repeat business here or if it’s just a fad.”

Jack said that there are plenty of statistics for opening your own restaurant that can scare any new restaurant owner’s pants off and the message generally is that of failure. But, Jack is excited to see where his restaurant is heading and he said he needs a solid year in business to see real trends in feedback.

Jack has learned a thing or two these last four months. He said he continues to keep his customer-base as his priority, keeping the motto “Customer is key” in mind and learned that design thinking should be integral in the process of customer experience to make it better for them. He said he also learned to compare an idea to how it actually plays out to determine what changes can be implemented and how those changes will affect the end result of the business.  

So, Pono O-NO or Pono O-YES?  Visit this young entrepreneur at his shop and maybe he will tell you which poke bowl is his favorite*.

By: Kristen Gerdts and Anna Blakley

*Or you can beat him to the punch and ask for the spicy tuna and island style.