#169 | Gene Villiatora | 'Ai Pono Cafe, the modern mixplate, and addressing social media controversy

Gene Villiatora is an entrepreneur and chef from the island of O’ahu. He is owner of ‘Ai Pono Cafe, which is a Hawai’i street food restaurant in Costa Mesa, California and Las Vegas, Nevada. He has been in the culinary arts since the age of 18 when he started as a dishwasher 25 years ago at the California Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Since then he has found his true calling in the industry and has held high profile positions such as being the personal chef for Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, the previous owners of the UFC and all Station Casino Brands in Vegas. In 2008 he was a contestant on the fifth season of the reality television competition Top Chef. Currently he is on a mission to reintroduce Hawai’i street food to the community. In this episode we talk about growing up in Hawai’i, moving to Las Vegas, getting into the culinary arts, opening ‘Ai Pono Cafe, his unique style of marketing, social media drama, future goals, and so much more. Enjoy! Find Gene here:   / aiponocafe   Buy our merch on: Official website: https://keepitaloha.com/ Support us on: Patreon:   / kamakadias   Follow us on: Instagram:   / keepitalohapod   Facebook:   / keepitalohapod   TikTok:   / keepitalohapod   Listen to us on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3S4albn...