While its slogan is, "Three chefs, three cuisines, one great restaurant," Three's Bar & Grill adds up exponentially to be waaaay more than that.
Take the oysters, for instance. Fresh as it gets Fanny Bay and Kumamoto bivalves are shucked daily by partner Jaron Blosser, who is willing to compete with anyone on island to do it faster.
"We go through more oysters than some of the top hotels," says Blosser, who shucks them with lightening speed for Three's two happy hours daily.
Article Photos
Chefs, partners and surfing buddies Jaron Blosser (from left), Travis Morrin and Cody Christopher incorporate three types of cuisines into the menus at their smokin’ hot Three’s Bar & Grill in Kihei.
The Maui News / CARLA TRACY photo
"Our happy hours are hugely popular with locals," he continues. "When we started it three years ago, we thought, 'Let's make it the best on Maui.' "
You'll find 14 different food items along with $3 well drinks, margaritas, mai tais and live music. Sit out on the patio and drink in the lively scene.
In fact, Three's features live music for breakfast, lunch, happy hour and dinner - pretty much seven days a week. It's also on a roll with sushi - with California roll, spicy salmon and tekka maki flying out of the kitchen starting at 3 p.m.
Fact Box
Three's Bar & Grill at a glance:
Where: Kihei Kalama Village at 1945 S. Kihei Rd.
Hours: Open for breakfast on Wednesdays to Sundays from 8:30 to 11 a.m.; and daily for lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; happy hours from 3 to 6 p.m. and 9 to 10 p.m.; as well as dinner from 5 to 10 p.m.
Signature items: kalua pork quesadillas, panko-crusted ahi roll; tropical salad, Hawaiian-style ribs, seared ahi, and triple chocolate mousse.
Cuisine: Hawaiian, Pacific Rim and Southwestern.
How much: Breakfast costs from $5-$16; lunch $10-$16; happy hour sushi is $3-$4, oysters $1.50 each; dinner appetizers, $3-$16; dinner entrees are $20-$32; and desserts are $3-$9.
Entertainment: Enjoy live music on the patio daytime; light acoustic dinner music nightly; and blues on Wednesdays in the Surf Lounge.
Catering: Let the Three's team plan your party - large or small.
For further details: Call 879-3133 or visit the restaurant's website at www.threesbarandgrill.com.
While Blosser is the raw bar and sushi man, as well as general manager (and, brand new dad!), his partner Travis Morrin handles the catering, and Cody Christopher serves as the executive chef.
The trio of surfing buddies and culinary school grads all worked together at Longhi's in their past lives. They actually launched a catering company initially so they could surf whenever they wanted. It was so successful, they opened Three's - where the menu now encompasses the chefs' three styles of cuisines - from Hawaiian to Southwestern to Pacific Rim.
"We started as a catering company and now that aspect has grown with us as our restaurant has grown," says Morrin. "We can handle really large volumes, both here and off-site locations."
"But we still find time to surf," chimes in partner Christopher, who's launching a new hot sauce line at the restaurant and plans to expand into more. I say they ought to bottle their kim chee pickles. Crunchy, spicy, yet cool, they are out of this world.
As far as catering goes, the chef partners are putting together some really big parties, and getting rave reviews.
"We just did Pacific Cancer Foundation's fundraiser for 350 people with five various passed hors d'oeuvres," says Morrin. "And plated desserts. We just did a wedding in the Surf Lounge in the back where we also have blues night on Wednesdays."
The trio of go getters also recently catered the party for the Auwahi Wind Farm located at Ulupalakua Ranch, with its president, Pardee Erdman, the mayor and councilmen in attendance.
And they did a lunch for 250 people, and the same day, put up a food booth at Kihei Fourth Friday Town Party down the street - while Three's Bar & Grill remained jumping with satisfied diners.
"We are really proud of doing the catering at Maui Arts & Cultural Center," Morrin continues. "We'll be there catering for Art MIXX March 30 and the James Taylor show on April 12."
In the restaurant itself, which features four different dining areas, both inside and out, they use a lot of local ingredients, organic as much as possible. At breakfast, wake up to deluxe Hawaiian loco moco, chimichurri breakfast sandwich, signature eggs benedict, or tropical French toast.
Later in the day, begin with fun cocktails such as the Dragonberry Mojito and the Trashed Tea created by Morrin's dad, Glenn Morrin, well-known in Maui's restaurant industry. You'll also find wines by the glass and lots of cold beers.
Lunch salads attract the yoga crowd, and kalua pork quesadillas, fresh island fish and Three's BLT entice the rest.
For dinner, specialty sushi includes the Volcano roll, the Cane Spider roll, and the Green Dragon roll. Or sink your teeth into Hawaiian-style ribs, char-grilled salmon, or Three's mixed grill,
"We've come a long way since when we started," says Blosser. "The restaurant is so successful because we work so well together and we laugh, too."
"We used to be crazy," adds Christopher. "But we have a goal - that is - we want to be the next hot chefs on Maui."
