Tanioka’s Seafoods & Catering
THE TANIOKA’S STORY
For over 40 years, Tanioka’s has been serving up some of Oahu’s best seafood and local cuisine from their headquarters in Waipahu. From its famed limu poke and sushi to fried chicken and spam musubi, husband-and-wife team Mel and Lynn Tanioka stay true to their mission of “Quality Foods with a Friendly Smile.” Mel and Lynn started their business to take care of their family, and their ohana is at the heart of everything they do.
Jasmine Tanioka, Mel and Lynn’s daughter and the company’s CFO, remembers, “When my parents started the business, they worked so hard seven days a week to ensure it ran at the highest standards, but they still always found time for family. They were so involved with me and my brother. From sports to our school activities, they somehow managed to always be there. They are not just great business owners, but incredible parents.”
Now that Lynn and Mel’s kids, Jasmine and Justin, are in charge, they’re incorporating some innovative new ideas and bringing the business to new heights. Still, at the end of the day, it’s all about ohana.
At the heart of our business, it has always been about family and serving the community. ProService has become a part of our extended ohana, enabling us to have the time to spend on our priorities.
– Jasmine Tanioka, CFO of Tanioka’s
The Challenge
With Mel and Lynn taking a step back from the day-to-day operations after decades of being front and center at the business, Jasmine and Justin’s roles at Tanioka’s have grown. The siblings are dedicated to maintaining the high standards and great community reputation their parents had worked so hard to build. Yet when Jasmine had her own child as the business continued to grow and flourish, Mel wanted to ensure that his daughter was able to balance her family needs with business just as he had done.
A family member recommended they look into getting human resources support from experts at ProService Hawaii. Says Jasmine, “We knew as a part of our family that he had our best interests at heart, and we also knew we could be honest about what we needed and tell him if it wasn’t working out. So we decided to give ProService a try.”
THE SOLUTION
The dedicated service team at ProService immediately took the large administrative burdens off of Jasmine’s plate. They professionally managed Tanioka’s payroll and supported the continued growth of the business with low-cost benefits and expert guidance to ensure complete compliance throughout an ever-changing business landscape. What surprised the Taniokas the most was that ProService treated them like family.
“We were so surprised just how much they cared,” says Jasmine. “Every step of the way, everyone we’ve worked with at ProService has been so helpful. You can tell they are dedicated to making the partnership succeed.”
ProService additionally provides the COO with customizable business intelligence reports that have been invaluable for making her job easier.
“ProService is helping us to be able to see the bigger picture of our company, see the bigger picture of our payroll and where our income and expenses are going. They’ve just been amazing in helping us to build a better business financially.”
THE OUTCOME
Since 1978, Tanioka’s has grown from a local favorite into a Hawaii institution attracting visitors from around the globe. Its catering division, added in 2000, has become a go-to for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and functions of all kinds. Throughout all of their success, the strong roots of family have been at the foundation.
Now that they don’t have to worry about HR, the next generation of the Tanioka family is able to carry on a tradition of serving fresh quality food, giving back to the community through the Tanioka’s Charity Foundation and remaining focused on their priorities–each other. Jasmine now spends most of her day working out of her home office. With ProService expertly handling the time-consuming payroll and HR administration needs, as well as providing guidance to become more efficient and profitable, the future remains bright for the Tanioka’s business and their ohana.
“The system, required by the State Department of Health, would have been so time consuming for us to implement on our own without the experts at ProService to lead the process.”
