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The lunch crowd at Kim Chee II restaurant in Kaimuki has disappeared, with so many workers in nearby businesses laid off or working from home, so owner Jimmy Chun is trying to boost sales with a 10% discount on items ordered before 3 p.m.
The Korean restaurant’s bestselling meat jun and kalbi, as well as generous portions on all entrees, have been drawing customers since it opened in 1977 — “Our kim chee fried rice is killer, too!” Chun said. But with customers limited to takeout, his restaurant, and over a dozen others that share the Kaimuki Municipal parking lot on Waialae Avenue, have seen business drop 40% to 50%. Normally the lot is packed day and night, but now most stalls are empty, he said.
Kim Chee II offers curbside pickup, Chun just asks that people pay with the exact amount in cash, so his staff doesn’t have to go back and forth to process credit cards or fetch change. “We appreciate all our customers coming back all the time and spending money, and showing their appreciation for us.”
Chun fears what could happen if coronavirus restrictions going on for months. “Restaurants gotta close; we cannot keep losing money. Even if we take out loans, you gotta pay the loans back.”
Chun’s grandmother opened Kim Chee I in Kaneohe in 1977, the same year his late father, Henry Chun, opened the one in Kaimuki. A third branch is in Pearl City and another on Kauai.
KIM CHEE II
3569 Waialae Ave.
Open 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Call 737-7733.
