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Going through 220 pounds of ahi in your first week of business is a major flex, especially when you're still in soft-opening mode, switching from manual ordering to digital POS and a menu that changes on a whim. Welcome to Island Rootz, the low-key strip mall Hawaiian spot from the husband-and-wife team behind Big Island transplant Aunty Maile's. The vibe is family-forward in the most literal sense: owners of neighboring restaurants drift in for a post-shift meal and hang, Aunty Maile's employees bring their mom on her day off, and strangers get treated like they’ve been coming for years. Poke is made fresh daily, with more than double the options of its older sibling. Beyond the Hawaiian, shoyu, sesame and furikake styles you'll find at Aunty Maile's, there are also spicy garlic, wasabi with masago and limu, kimchi and dynamite (a surprisingly light spicy mayo with masago). Expect new options to pop up at any given time based on what co-owner Jun Tsukiyama is cooking up in her head. Poke aside, there are just as many musubi evolving options, including a hash brown and ketchup iteration that has no business being as good as it is, plus chicken katsu, garlic shrimp and other plate lunches. Poke bowls and plate lunches are served with rice and mac salad. Bookend your meal with something sweet—lilikoi fruit tea to start, pandan pudding to finish.