On October 17, 1966, brothers Francis and Charles Higa opened the first Zippy's on South King Street in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Francis and Charlie bought mostly freestanding buildings so that they could stay open for 24 hours, attracting many late-night customers.

[1] On November 19, 1983, Napoleon's Bakery opened its doors, due to the fact that Zippy's wanted to try something different.

[3] Francis determined the direction of the company, while Charles made most of the operational decisions and handled all food and paper purchases.

When Zippy's Kaimuki restaurant opened, Charles would transport huge pots of chili in his station wagon.

[6] Zippy's is open 24 hours and offers a wide variety of food combining American, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Hawaiian cuisine—that is, what people who live in Hawaii call "local" cuisine.

Zippy's sells 110 tons of it every month through their stores, fund raising activities, and in retail markets.