Dean’s Drive Inn fundraiser underway to help with flood damage
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / 2017
“We’re very grateful and appreciate the community, the Castle High School class of 1973, and all of our loyal customers,” owner Dean Mishima said.
A fundraiser to help Dean’s Drive Inn recover from extensive flood damage is underway online with pickup of plate lunches at the popular Kaneohe restaurant scheduled for Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Food pre-orders, gift card purchases and donations can be done at bit.ly/3lxvPPY.
Plate lunches featuring teriyaki beef steak, ahi cakes, baked shoyu chicken and tofu katsu are on the menu.
The event is being organized by owner Dean Mishima’s Castle High School classmates.
The restaurant’s dining area and kitchen had 4 to 6 inches of flooding on March 9 and forced the eatery to close that day, Mishima said.
“We’re going to have to replace the drywall, and probably a couple of booths,” Mishima said. “I’m born and raised in Kaneohe, and I’ve never seen it rain that hard and that fast before.”
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
He reopened the next day (not for sit-down dining, as that has been closed due to COVID-19, anyway), but business has been slow because of more rain and accumulated water in the parking lot.
A damaged rockwall at a canal behind the restaurant makes flooding worse, Mishima said. “Hopefully the city or state will fix that,” he said.
The restaurant opened in 2006, and was featured on the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”
“We’re very grateful and appreciate the community, the Castle High School class of 1973, and all of our loyal customers,” Mishima said.
Dean’s Drive Inn is at 45-270 William Henry Road.
