Katsutaro Chagami was Issei (first generation) – born in Japan and emigrated to the Islands from 1885 to 1924 (when Congress stopped all legal migration). The term Issei came into common use and represented the idea of a new beginning and belonging.
The children of the Issei, like Richard Kiyoshi Chagami, were Nisei, the second generation in Hawaiʻi and the first generation of Japanese descent to be born and receive their entire education in America, learning Western values and holding US citizenship.
“When the Issei first arrived in Hawaii they lived in plantation villages or camps and preserved their way of life by only speaking Japanese. After 1900, a significant influx of picture brides to the islands created families that served as the basis for a flourishing Japanese population.”
“As the community grew, Buddhist temples, Japanese newspapers, and Japanese language schools were created. Most Japanese immigrants were plantation workers, but there were those who chose to take up a life of fishing as a means of sustenance and income.”
“Small fishing villages were known to crop up around coastal areas. Katsutaro and Kawayo Chagami [Richard Chagami’s parents], lived on the shores of Pearl Harbor in a small fishing village on what is currently the Aiea Bay State Recreation Area.” (Minatoishi and Gushiken; NPS)
“Katsutaro Chagami owned a sampan (a flat-bottomed fishing boat) that was moored at Kewalo Basin. His fishing endeavors called him away for two weeks at a time. Besides deep sea fishing, Katsutaro occasionally brought the boat home to take the family for rides to Ford Island (Mokuumeume) or around Pearl Harbor (Puuloa).”
“The Chagami family had erected an ebisu kotohira (fishing shrine) on their property, a sacred object the family would eventually take with them.”
“In 1940, Pearl Harbor terminated the leases on the fishing village and Katsutaro, Kawayo, and their 11 children were forced to look for other living accommodations.” (Minatoishi and Gushiken; NPS)
Richard Chagami (born on June 21, 1917) served in the Army along with his brother Henry. They served in Italy and France as part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II. During his service with the Army, Richard served as a cook. (Minatoishi and Gushiken; NPS)
Upon the boys’ return, their parents purchased a lunch wagon from Elia Niau so the brothers could start a business together. The lunch wagon sold meals near the corner of Honomanu and Kamehameha Highway.
In the beginning, they served mostly banana splits, ice cream floats and sodas. The menu later changed to plate lunches, saimin and burgers. (Bernardo)
“The wagon was on their (Chagami’s) property. We used to hook up to their electricity and use their water to run the wagon. They were always really nice to us.”
“It was World War II, so there was rationing. But because my father was a police officer who patrolled the Pearl City area, he always knew where to get the food.”
“I used to use a wheel barrel to carry the sodas and the burgers across the street. They loved our burgers and our bacon sandwiches.” (Solomon Niau, son of Elia Niau; Paragas) These were the two staples of the lunch wagon then, and they remain popular among many of the restaurant’s current patrons. (Paragas)
The wagon was named the “Forty Niner”. The name drew inspiration from the Gold Rush and alluded to the owner’s hopes that patrons would flock to the eatery much like adventurers converged on California.
“I guess my parents (including mom Elizabeth Johnson Niau) thought that if they bought the Forty Niner, people would rush in like they did during the 1949 Gold Rush.” (Solomon Niau, son of Elia Niau; Paragas)
The wagon gained a strong following from workers at the Aiea Naval Hospital, Pearl Harbor, and other adjacent military facilities. After the lunch wagon gained a substantial following, a free-standing, permanent restaurant was constructed. The Forty Niner establishment was completed in August of 1947. (Minatoishi and Gushiken; NPS)
Richard Chagami handled the daily operations while Henry handled the bookkeeping. Over the years, Chagami’s nine other siblings also helped out. (Bernardo)
Richard retired in 2006 and passed the historic building, and the recipes served in it, to new owner Wil Cordes III. “I knew there would be a lot of eyes on me,” Cordes says.
“People have been bringing their families, three, four generations already. They were going to know the menu and taste of the food better than I did.”
So, after a few months of much needed renovations – the kitchen had a single burner and no telephone – he reopened with Richard’s sister, Jennie Tsuchidana, still making the burgers, saimin dashi and all the original menu items. Before he passed in 2011, Richard would even stop by now and then: “He would just say, ‘taste good, taste good,’” Cordes says.
“Meanwhile, he and his wife, Karla, expanded the menu to breakfast with pancakes, waffles and French toast and rotating specials throughout the day.
Longtime diners can now dig into the Forty Niner pancakes – which Cordes says were the first to feature haupia sauce and macadamia nuts – banana French toast, chilaquiles with eggs and garlic chicken while sitting on the eatery’s original stools. (Honolulu Magazine)
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