Three former Brigham Young University football players have teamed up to bring a popular Hawaiian barbecue franchise to Provo. And judging from the lines at the sunny, island-themed restaurant, it appears that Spencer Reid, Dustin Johnson and Itula Mili have scored a touchdown.

The grand opening of L & L Hawaiian Barbecue isn’t until Friday, but the restaurant was nearly mobbed the Saturday after it opened. Every table was filled, and some customers formed a line directly behind the counter as they waited for their food.

Crowds like these are a sure sign that the restaurant is doing something right, filling a heretofore untapped need in the county. The restaurant features fast-food platters of barbecued meats and seafood served with scoops of rice and macaroni salad. And did we mention that Spam is an oft-featured menu itemfi

L & L could well become the McDonald’s of Hawaiian barbecue. The chain has some 100 franchises throughout the United States and is rapidly gaining popularity.

But unlike most McDonald’s locations, which operate with a totalitarian-like efficiency, L & L was experiencing a few growing pains on our first visit. We waited more than a half-hour for our food, something you don’t expect at an order-at-the-counter restaurant. Our order was wrong when it finally did come, but a server corrected the problem promptly.

On a subsequent visit a week later, things went much more quickly: We ordered one platter to go and had it in 15 minutes. Still, parking headaches and long lines could be a mainstay at L & L — tasty, inexpensively priced food is an absolutely winning combination in Utah County.

The restaurant’s specialties are savory seared meats, like the chicken, beef and shortribs featured in the Hawaiian Barbecue Mix platter.

We wanted more of the shortribs (they were mainly fat and gristle), but the chicken and beef were impressively tender.

We loved the chicken katsu and the fried shrimp. Both are made with boneless meat that is heavily breaded and fried. (The chicken katsu’s breading has the consistency of coconut, but without the cloying tropical flavor.)

They’re served with a killer katsu sauce, a topping that is both sweet and tangy for a deliciously puckering condiment.

Portions are large here — the franchise is, after all, the enterprise of three football players.

And with succulent barbecued meats sold at fast-food prices, it’s easy to see why this fast-food restaurant scores.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page F13.