Christie Morikawa loves the restaurant biz so much that she came out of retirement last month to open a new eatery, Bibimbap House, in Waipahu. Right now, the new restaurant is serving food seven days a week.

But back when the coronavirus wasn’t keeping folks from visiting one another, Wednesdays weren’t about cooking. That was a day devoted to singing and dancing.

“We’re usually closed on Wednesdays because she does her volunteering work,” said her husband, Daven Morikawa. “She’s part of a group of church ladies who dance at Leahi Hospital. She does Korean dance, and there’s hula and Japanese dance. It’s really blended.”

“I’ve been going to Leahi for 12 years,” Christie said. “We play piano and ukulele and sing. I talk to the patients, and I massage them, and then I go home and my husband massages me. That makes me very happy.”

Now she channels all that good will into feeding customers her menu of upscale bibimbap, the beloved Korean rice dish. Toppings include sushi-quality ikura (salmon roe), abalone, uni (sea urchin) and unagi (eel), as well as lobster. The menu also includes chige (stews), pajeon (Korean pancakes) and plate lunches of chicken katsu, meat jun and more. Prices range from about $12 to $22.

Though the Morikawas can’t host customers in-house, they are offering takeout with a 10% discount.

That no doubt makes their loyal customers happy. Some have been following Christie since she entered the restaurant business in 2001 after purchasing Jang Su Jang, a popular yakiniku venue in Pearl City. After the landlord ended its lease in 2011, she went on to open Christie’s, then Ohana Inn in 2013. When she closed Ohana Inn in 2018, she intended to retire.

But putting her feet up didn’t suit her. When Christie opened Bibimbap House, she and Daven called her longtime customers, and business was steady — until the coronavirus upended everything.

Nobody would guess that when Christie first started, she didn’t know a thing about food. An entrepreneur at heart, she opened an import-export business selling fine European furnishings when she moved to Hawaii from South Korea in 1987.

Her lack of restaurant experience didn’t bother her.

“I really liked it,” she recalled. “When people come in hungry (and eat), they become so happy.”

Daven said that in the early days, “she didn’t even know how to order supplies.”

Christie relied on a server, Yong Mi Takase, to help. “She taught us everything,” said Christie. Takase continues to work for the couple.

As for cooking, Christie relied on a Jang Su Jang chef to teach her, supplementing the lessons with weekly visits to McCully-Moiliili Public Library, which houses a large Korean section.

“She would pick up cookbooks on her way to Leahi on Wednesdays. I’m not talking one or two, but a stack this high — five or six books,” said Daven. “She did a lot of research, and learned through trial and error.”

She still borrows cookbooks today.

Christie admits that the current situation is challenging. For the time being, she isn’t calling in most of her 10 workers. And the coronavirus has halted her visits to Leahi.

“Right now, its scary,” she said. “But it’s OK. We’re so happy to open. We’re still healthy. How lucky I am, how thankful.”

Bibimbap House, 94-300 Farrington Highway, 671-9488; Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.