Chan’s of a Lifetime: Setas bring variety of experiences, cultures from Hawaii to Vegas

Ken Miller

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004 | 8:14 a.m.

Honolulu-born Warren Seta always knew he would move to the continental United States one day - only he thought it would be as a baseball player. And his wife, Cathy, a self-described introvert, never thought she'd leave the tranquility of her life as a bookkeeper in Hawaii - especially for Las Vegas.

Things change. Warren had to rethink his future following a serious injury, but still ended up moving from Hawaii. And Cathy wanted to be with her husband, but preferred to remain a bookkeeper.

The result is Malibu Chan's, which the Setas opened in 1999.

The restaurant, located in a shopping center on West Sahara Avenue, consists of one main, well-lit dining area surrounding a large bar. The reddish-brown-painted concrete floor is adorned with 23 tables, four booths and 15 seats at the bar.

The restaurant is heavy on aesthetics, with a large water wall greeting visitors at the entrance, white-and-beige sponge-painted walls and oil-on-canvas paintings by attorney/artist George Chenos. The bar is topped with granite, and dark-wood trim frames two plasma-screen televisions.

The kitchen, visible from the dining area, has a sushi bar facing one end and a live lobster tank facing the other. Panes of glass on the rear side of the bar offer booth patrons a look at the many varieties of wine available.

Warren describes his menu as "Pacific Rim, but with fusion," incorporating his Japanese heritage growing up in Hawaii, but with elements of American cuisine.

So, right alongside Hawaiian poke, diners can find Tokyo ravioli, Cajun ahi pizza and Malibu's famous ribs.

The Setas have had several specialty dishes featured in Bon Appetit magazine, and their restaurant was selected as one of the top 40 neighborhood restaurants in the country by that magazine in 2002.

In addition to becoming successful entrepreneurs, the Setas are also committed to serving their community. They donate regularly to charities such as Opportunity Village and Shade Tree, and once a month they work with their church, Canyon Ridge Christian, to feed the homeless.

"I'd like to start my own mission someday," Warren said. "We may struggle, but the good Lord has given us a lot. If I can't help people, why am I here?"

Hard knocks

Even before he discovered his aptitude for sports while growing up in Pearl City, Hawaii, Warren, 46, the son of Japanese parents, remembers his father's philosophy of life:

"He used to tell me, 'I don't care what you do, but be the best one out there. But remember, there's always someone better than you,' " Warren said.

Once he began playing baseball at age 10, Warren recalls his father, Benson, a carpenter foreman, giving him "lectures at the dinner table" based on that day's performance on the field. When he began Babe Ruth League at age 13, Benson joined on as a coach, and remained strict with his son, sometimes requiring hourslong sessions in the batting cages.

But Warren isn't resentful. In fact, he's grateful. He feels that level of discipline is what allowed him to succeed as a player -- and later, as a chef.

"He was a perfectionist, but I learned a lot," Warren said. "He sacrificed a lot for his kids."

Warren eventually got a baseball scholarship to the University of Hawaii. "In my freshman year, we were No. 1 in the country. That was exciting," he said.

But everything came to a halt just before he turned 19, when he tore the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.

"My friends and I were messing around, seeing who could jump a river," he said. "I was the only one who made it, but I overshot."

It took more than a year for Warren's injury to heal, during which time he "went on a tangent and really screwed up my grades."

Warren got his studies straightened out, but he never played college ball again. He played in a variety of leagues for several months, but ultimately left baseball behind.

"I think it was the reality of not going to school anymore, and realizing my true passion: Cooking."

The other gift

Warren didn't inherit just the athletic gene from his parents.

"My father was a great cook," he remembers. "He would come home from work and cook. I found myself interested in watching him when I was about 10."

Warren's mother, Arlene, was also talented in the kitchen, and his grandmother, Florence, handed down her Japanese cooking heritage.

"By the time of her generation, they were already cooking American-style dishes like beef stew," Warren said. That mixture of cultures is what influenced him most.

As he got older, Warren began to do prep work for his parents before they got home, usually preparing the rice for cooking.

Part of it was curiosity; the other part was leverage.

"I look back on it as my passion, but at the time it was a way to ask my dad for money or to use the car," Warren said. "But at that time, there was no Food Network. It wasn't cool to cook."

Part of it was also cultural, Cathy said.

"Every kid in Hawaii, their job was to put rice on after school or make sure the rice was ready."

What intrigued Warren most were the Benihana restaurants, where watching food's preparation is part of the experience.

"My family has that trait -- they like being in front of people and entertaining them," Warren said.

His first restaurant experience was in 1979, while he was waiting for his knee to heal. He found work as a busboy at one of the island's two Black Angus steakhouses, and he learned some valuable lessons during his year there.

"No matter what job you do at a restaurant, there is a system to it, a technique," he said. "I learned time management and how to be cordial to the guests. That was my groundwork -- that everything you do has to be done with a positive attitude, because this business can bury you."

Life lessons

While at Black Angus, Warren learned of a training school program at the local Benihana. He credits his experiences there as being the most significant of his career.

"What you see on the table is one-third of the job," he said. "We had to learn butchery, stock-making, cost control, waste management."

His mentor there, Chef Nick Takakusaki, was hard on his students, but took a special liking to Warren.

"He would bring many people to tears," he said. "Nick took me under his wing. Why? I'm not sure."

For six months Warren did nothing but cook rice -- in an oven, where he had to continually adjust the heat to make sure the rice didn't burn.

"I was frustrated, and asked Nick why I wasn't being trained for anything else. Nick told me, 'You are (in) samurai training!' He wanted to see how strong I was up here," pointing to his head.

Warren soon went on to complete the rest of his training, and in 1981, Nick pulled him aside.

"He said, 'I think it's time for you to go,' " Warren said. "It was almost like that whole 'grasshopper' thing from 'Kung Fu.' I thought he was firing me."

He later learned Takakusaki had contacted friends of his at the Benihana restaurant at the Las Vegas Hilton and the Kobe Steakhouse in Palm Desert, Calif. Warren had a decision to make.

"It was a pretty easy choice," he said. "I always thought Vegas was cool. I thought I was gonna break open the world."

Desert dilemma

Things didn't quite work out the way Warren intended. Not only did he have to audition for his job, but he had to wait two weeks to be hired after acing the audition.

"I had $145 in my pocket," he said. "I had almost no money for rent, and I was about to just go home. But that's when I made the turning point in my life and said, 'If I stick with this, it will be something I cannot buy.' "

Warren stayed. Not only that, he climbed the ladder quickly. After one year with Benihana, Warren went to work for Mizuno's at the Tropicana in 1982. He became executive chef by 1983, and remained there until 1986.

Warren took advantage of his time there to learn front-end management, eventually taking over operation of the entire restaurant. He also was married during this time (he prefers not mention his first wife's name) and had three children, Sean, 20, Tiffany, 19, and Kimi, 16, all of whom still live in Henderson.

In 1986 Warren served as a consultant on a Japanese restaurant in Las Vegas, the New Kabuki Teahouse (now the Shilla restaurant on West Sahara). Warren left Mizuno's, and when the new restaurant was finished in 1987, he served as general manager until 1988.

Begin again

In 1989 Warren and his first wife divorced. It was devastating for Warren.

"I went back to Hawaii. I lost everything," he said. "For several years I didn't want to do anything."

He eventually decided to go back to Black Angus, this time as a waiter.

It was there he met Cathy. She was employed at the other Black Angus as a bookkeeper, and Warren's boss was a good friend of hers.

"She's always visited her at our store, and then we'd all go out for drinks," Warren said. "One thing led to another, and we were married in 1992."

Cathy remembers it slightly differently.

"At first Warren didn't go out with the crew," she said. "I think he didn't like me at first."

"I thought she was a snob," Warren countered.

"I'm just very quiet," she said, smiling.

Their first date was not so much a date as an interrogation, Warren said.

"Hey, he's from Vegas, I'm a local girl, he's been divorced. I said, 'What are your intentions here?' " Cathy said.

Shortly after they began dating but before they were married, Warren decided to return to management. He opened a Daruma Noodle Shop franchise in Pearl City on the island of Oahu in 1991, and operated it for the Daruma Group until 1995.

Back to Vegas

Warren took care of most of the operations at the 806-square-foot restaurant, and during his time in Hawaii he yearned to return to Las Vegas and start his own restaurant.

He got his chance shortly after he and Cathy married.

In 1992 the Setas met up with Kam Piyaachariya, a former business associate of Warren's at Mizuno's, in Las Vegas while on their honeymoon.

"He told me Mizuno's was becoming available soon," Warren said.

He wouldn't return to begin negotiations until 1995 -- "It took awhile until the owners decided who was going to acquire it," Warren said -- and the Setas and Kam bought the property together in 1996.

They kept the restaurant intact, keeping all the employees and the name. But in 1997 they knew it was time to strike out on their own.

"We love to dine," Cathy said. "Our main goal was for locals to have quality food at reasonable prices. We wanted a restaurant that had all of our favorite things as diners."

The Setas were patient until they found a location they wanted, and Malibu Chan's opened in 1999.

The evolution of the name was a cooperative effort between Warren and Cathy.

"We knew what kind of cuisine we were going to serve -- Pacific Rim -- but this was a $9.99 prime rib town, and we wondered if Pacific Rim people would catch on to that kind of name," Warren said. "We went with a California-themed title instead, and we wanted a city that was sophisticated, but with casual elegance. Hence, Malibu."

The other part was relatively easy.

"I thought everyone knew Charlie Chan or Jackie Chan," he said. "We were really happy with how the name came out."

They remain part-owners of Mizuno's, but spend most of their time at Malibu Chan's.

Staying close

Family remains extremely important to the Setas, and they've honored their clan in their menu. The miso yaki sea bass is patterned after the kind he used to eat as a child, and the cottage potatoes he serves with the filet mignon are patterned after the type his father used to make.

In addition, you'll also find "Jaycie's Chocolate Surprise" in the dessert section -- named after their 6-year-old daughter.

They see Jaycie when they can -- Warren describes their hours as "24/7" -- by splitting their shifts. Cathy usually works during the day, Warren at night.

He has two younger brothers, Raymond, 43, and Elden, 40. Raymond is a flight attendant based in California, and Elden is a musical director in Hawaii who won the Milken Teacher of the Year Award last year.

The other members of the Seta's "family" -- their employees -- are just as important.

"I truly enjoy it if I can touch their lives," Warren said. "I want to be the one who teaches them things they'll carry with them the rest of their lives."

For Cathy, knowing the customers are having a good time is what makes the job worthwhile.

"The best comment I've ever heard was, 'Thank you for being here,' " Cathy said. "That is exactly why we're doing this."

And while she still prefers the "alone time" doing the books in the office, she finds herself interacting with customers more and more as time goes by.

"Going to functions can be a challenge for me, but we have great customers here, and I've gotten to know them," Cathy said. "The scariest time I had here was when Steve Wynn was here. He was so nice, and I was so nervous, but I got through it."

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