New poke shop brings aloha spirit and a taste of Hawaii to Eugene

It’s 10:55 a.m. — five minutes before OG Poke opens — and folks are lined up at the Hawaiian eatery in west Eugene, eyeing containers packed with cubed and marinated ahi tuna.

The crowd is a mix of workers on their lunch breaks, young families, lifelong Oregonians and native Hawaiians hungry for a taste of home. The line quickly stretches from the front door to the display case of this small, no-frills shop. 

This is Lynn Bike’s second visit to OG Poke. Born in Waikiki, Bike moved to Eugene with her husband in 1993. In the decades since, she’s discovered a University of Oregon club that hosts luaus every year, festivals that celebrate her culture and, as of two weeks ago, what she considers the best poke this side of the Pacific Ocean.

“It’s the freshness of the fish,” Bike said of OG’s poke. “They got the seasoning down.”

She promises, perhaps to herself, to try one of the shop’s six other flavors, but today, she orders the furikake poke again.

“Tax season is a busy time for me,” said Bike, who owns a bookkeeping business, “so this is comfort food.”

Next time, she might choose poke slicked in OG’s punchy ginger-teriyaki glaze, or the spicy aioli with tiny orange pops of fish roe. The shoyu limu (soy sauce and seaweed) marinade sings of the ocean, of owner Kevin Castillo’s childhood, with crunchy and briny ogo (red seaweed).

A native Hawaiian, Castillo grew up eating the marinated raw tuna, seaweed, sea salt, kukui nuts — poke. He once broke out in hives after eating a bowl and cried, thinking he was allergic. It turned out to be an isolated incident.

“I want people to experience Hawaii without having to go to Hawaii,” Castillo said. “It’s the aloha spirit. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from when you walk in.” 

Though he’s cooked his whole career, he never expected to open a poke shop.

“I just wanted good food,” Castillo said. He brought the beloved dish to the mainland last year when he opened OG Poke in Portland. He grew the OG brand quickly, expanding to Scottsdale, Arizona, and then in November to Eugene. 

What you won’t find at OG Poke: crispy fried onions, wasabi sauce, radishes and a host of other ingredients that eclipse the clean taste and firm yet tender texture of good tuna. 

Like most poke shops in Hawaii, OG encourages customers to sample just about anything in the display case: marinated tuna, tako (octopus) and mussels, as well as classic sides like macaroni salad, cucumber kimchi and garlic edamame — all made in house.

The goal: Be happy with the poke bowl of your choice.

“I want you to try it so you understand the flavors,” Castillo said. “Get what you want, not what you think you want.” 

The OG way

Jen Rinker has a hibiscus flower in her hair when she orders the Friday special: An aloha plate with a mound of smoky, shredded pork called kalua pig, chicken long rice in a gingery broth and the star: Lau Lau, a traditional Hawaiian dish. 

Born in Kauai, she’s lived in Eugene for the past decade. This is her first time at OG Poke, but she can already tell it’s the real deal.

“This one smells absolutely fabulous,” Rinker says as she peels back the foil packet to reveal the Lau Lau. Steam rises aromatically from the softened dark green taro leaves and slow-cooked pork. 

Rinker then opens a small side of lomi lomi salmon, which resembles pico de gallo and adds a bright contrast to the savory, meat-heavy specials on her plate. In all, she estimates the hefty plate and sides will give her enough food for three to four meals.

A self-described macaroni salad connoisseur, Rinker points out what always goes into Hawaiian-style mac, and what doesn’t: A no-frills mayo base, grated carrot and absolutely no celery. 

Just how OG does it.

‘So much like home, I forget I’m in Oregon’

Less than an hour after opening, OG Poke staff had already made a second batch of the daily poke special: garlic aioli. Here, nothing sits too long. 

“We are constantly back there cutting and mixing,” said Tiffany Chang, a partner at OG Poke’s Eugene location. “We want everyone to have the freshest experience possible.”

Castillo lives up to the “OG” brand in a few ways, one being the consistency of his sushi-grade tuna. 

Once thawed, the center-cut loins are left to drain for a whole day, ensuring any metallic, gamey or fishy notes are flushed with the blood, ice and other liquids.

“When we do that, we bring life back to the fish,” Castillo said. 

Many of the shop’s staff members are Hawaiian-born college students like Breani Jeremiah, who was offered a job at OG while grabbing lunch there.

That’s no accident: Castillo positions his poke shops near colleges and universities with Polynesian student populations. The first poke shop he opened is near Portland State University. 

That same year, Castillo brought his Hawaiian-style poke concept to Eugene, where college students like Jeremiah can both work and find community. Come spring, he’ll add a second location in Eugene closer to UO’s campus.

“Sometimes I’m behind this counter, and I look out,” Jeremiah said as she sliced a block of tuna across the grain. “It looks so much like home I forget I’m in Oregon.”

‘A gathering place’

Castillo uplifts other Polynesian-owned businesses such as Cookies & Goodies, a mother-and-daughter bake shop straight out of Hawaii. Co-owner Cassie Acoba-Lee stocks the dessert case at OG Poke several times a week with cheesecake, chewy butter mochi, custard pie and the treat that kickstarted their business: ube crinkle cookies.

Their bestsellers have a soft, fudgy texture and deeply violet hue that erupts from a powdered sugar exterior. They’re sandwiched with a thick pat of sweet chantilly frosting. The cheesecakes are tangy and creamy, with a Biscoff crust and variations like guava, liliko’i and ube. 

Cookies & Goodies was born on the Big Island 10 years ago when Stephanie Lee, Cassie’s mom, baked the crinkles for fun until her daughter convinced her to start selling them. They brought their goodies to Oregon five years ago, selling at restaurants and pop-ups.

A few weeks after OG Poke opened in Eugene, Lee and her mom talked with Castillo about selling their crinkles at the shop. They sold out almost immediately.

At OG Poke, everyone seems to be connected: Lee and Chang were family friends, and Chang knew Castillo back in Kona, where they both worked at Four Seasons Resort Hualalai. 

The feeling of family extends to their young team members, who, related or not, call their elders uncle and aunty. 

“It’s an adoptive culture,” said Bike, the Hawaii-born business owner. The first time she tried OG Poke, she saw an older couple who had nowhere to sit, so she invited them to her table.

“I found out they’re from the same island as me,” Bike said. “It’s like a gathering place here.”

If you go

OG Poke sells a variety of Hawaiian-style poke by the scoop or pound, including tuna, octopus and mussels. Those who prefer cooked meals can opt for spam musubi and on Fridays, the aloha plate. OG Poke is open daily at 11 a.m. and is at 2132 W. Sixth Ave, Eugene. Both OG Poke and Cookies & Goodies can be found on Instagram.