Robert Taira

Robert Taira (November 5, 1923 in Hilo, Hawaii – May 29, 2003 in Torrance, California) was the founder of King's Hawaiian bakery.

Biography Taira was born and raised in Hilo, the ninth of eleven children of Okinawan immigrants.

He served in the U.S. Army as a translator during the occupation of Japan after World War II. He thought that as a result of the occupation, Japan's insular culture would become more receptive to Western culture and Western goods, and began to dream about opening various businesses in Japan. He considered clothing and jewelry, but finally decided to open a Western-style bakery. After his discharge from the Army, Taira attended baking schools in Hilo and Chicago, but was unable to return to Japan as planned when the Korean War broke out in 1950 and Japan closed its borders to regular civilians. Instead, he opened Robert's Bakery that year in his hometown of Hilo.