Rollin’ in the dough: JJ Dolan’s marks its first year of value, fine service in Downtown

HONOLULU—It’s 9:00 a.m. at JJ Dolan’s on a First Friday in Chinatown, and there is a palpable, calm-before-the-storm feeling as co-owner Danny Dolan discusses his establishment’s one-year anniversary. In tough economic times, the story of the success that he and business partner Jay Niebuhr are enjoying is particularly resonant.

Dolan and Niebuhr have been in the bar/restaurant industry for decades. This is a fact that belies their youthful exuberance and blatant optimism about opening a restaurant. But salient business advice and a sound sense of community have afforded JJ Dolan’s the ability, and the opportunity, to prosper. Lauded in the press and loved by the people, theirs is an operation worthy of the praise it’s received.

Dolan worked behind the rail at legendary Anna Bannna’s for many years, and Niebuhr was a part of the crack staff at Murphy’s Bar & Grill long enough to understand the importance of quality product and service.

“We’ve been able to recognize what does and doesn’t work,” says Dolan, affable and candid. “You’ve got to be able to provide good value to your customers.”

Although humbly reluctant to accept the mantle of mentor, Murphy’s Bar & Grill owner Don Murphy speaks proudly.

“They’ve done everything right,” he says. “They hit the nail right on the head.”

Bar managers Wayne Larrow and Patrick Oliver are first among “A-list” bartenders in Honolulu, and they work tirelessly to make JJ Dolan’s an island institution.

“We’ve got good people,” says Dolan. “We just get out of their way and let them do what they do.”

Dolan’s humility is indicative of his awareness and gratitude of the support he and Niebuhr have received.

“We owed a lot of people a lot of beer and pizza when we opened our doors,” says Dolan, only half-joking.

When pressed about what was the biggest challenge in opening a restaurant, Dolan laughs.

“Getting to where we could open the doors,” he says.

The chairs at JJ Dolan’s are fashioned from recycled gymnasium wood donated by folks at the University of Hawaii. The gleaming brass shining along Dolan’s walkways was similarly bequeathed. From casual advice to actual building materials, JJ Dolan’s success is the result of a whole lot of belief and goodwill.

Dolan and Niebuhr seem to understand clearly the importance of being a part of a community. Donating generously to organizations like Meals on Wheels, United Cerebral Palsy, the National Federation of the Blind, and the American Heart Association, Nieburh and Dolan are reciprocating the support they’ve received.

“I don’t think there’s been a charity we’ve turned down,” shrugs Dolan. 

A lunchtime crowd files into the door as order bells ring and Bruddah Iz croons from the sound system. Danny Dolan beams as he pours a Guiness, somehow surprised by the crowd.

“It is what it is,” he laughs.