As the economy came to a halt at the start of the pandemic last March, business leaders worried about the fallout. The National Restaurant Association polled its members and learned 60% of restaurateurs believed they were at risk of closing by 2021 if relief did not become available.

Some government assistance did arrive, so the real numbers were lower than expected. As of December, the association reported that 17% of restaurants had permanently closed, roughly 1 in 6. Hawaii fared a little better, at 15% of 3,600 restaurants, according to the Hawaii Restaurant Association. But the toll could be greater if the economy does not rebound.

Losses so far have affected businesses large and small, old and new, including such historic establishments as Like Like Drive Inn and Love’s Bakery.

Other popular, groundbreaking restaurants have closed, including Real Gastropub, a leader in Hawaii’s craft beer movement; and Alan Wong’s, a James Beard Foundation Award winner, a leader in the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement and a favorite vacation stop of former President Barack Obama.

Although the community felt shock and sadness over the loss of these prominent institutions, there is a glimmer of hope as neither of the owners has ruled out a comeback.

TROY TEROROTUA AND LISA KIM

The pandemic alone may not have been enough to lead to the closure of Real Gastropub and the sale of Brew’d Craft Pub, but it contributed to a perfect storm when combined with personal tragedy.

In 2019, the same year Troy Terorotua reopened Real, he learned his mother was suffering from cancer. He and his partner, Lisa Kim, had moved Real to Keauhou Lane in Kakaako, from its original location in the Ward Farmers Market.

He tried to balance running the restaurant with spending much of his time caring for his parents in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where he grew up. His mother died in February 2020, just before the first government-ordered business shutdown in late March. Although the restaurateurs quickly pivoted to takeout, traffic wasn’t equal to a fully running restaurant and Real closed in June.

At least Terorotua and Kim could hang on to Brew’d in Kaimuki, which they’d opened in 2014. But when Terorotua’s father died in September, he found himself back in Florida dealing with his parents’ property and making repairs on their house before figuring out his next steps.

“It’s hard to run a place when you’re not present,” Kim said, so although Brew’d was profitable, they made the difficult decision to sell.

Things moved quickly because a couple of their customers, Nick and Kristen Keech, expressed interest in owning a business that they would be able to pass on to their daughter one day.

Since the transfer of the business Jan. 1, the Keeches have continued to run the restaurant as it was, with the existing staff, planning to add more help as business picks up with the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions. Terorotua has been working with the couple as a consultant through the transition.

“During the two months it took us to do the deal we expanded the seating to 30 permanent seats outside,” Kim said. “We could have done it before, but at the time, no one wanted to sit outside. The inside would fill up first. We had a small outdoor hangout area, but the only ones who used it were people with dogs.”

Terorotua and Kim maintain a presence at Brew’d, such that Kim believes few customers realize anything has changed, but she feels the difference. “Sometimes I really want to buss tables when they’re really busy and customers are waiting. But by law I’m not allowed to do any of that,” she said. “I really miss touching tables, because I was always the one on the floor, making sure all our customers were taken care of.

“I’m so glad the new owners are keeping Brew’d as is. I would be sick if I saw someone tear it down and do a new concept.”

Despite the circumstances, Terorotua said spending more time in his old Florida stomping grounds has been a nice change of scenery. “It’s been good to go back and see family and see what friends are doing. … I’m just recharging my batteries, seeing what’s next.”

He and Kim have already decided that any comeback would not likely take the form of a brewpub.

“When we started in 2012, it was something new for Honolulu, but today there are so many,” Kim said. “We don’t want to be doing the same thing,”

She’s looking forward to traveling to Florida as well, and visiting Disney World for the first time.

“I feel like it’s something to look forward to, when 2020 didn’t give us anything to look forward to.”

ALAN WONG

Like every restaurateur forced to deal with COVID-19 business realities last spring, Alan Wong pivoted to offer takeout meals, frozen food and alcohol to-go, while hoping for the best. But with no pandemic end in sight by fall, Wong decided to close his eponymous restaurant in November.

“It wasn’t a good time for restaurants and I admire all of those who are staying open, fighting the good fight,” Wong said. “It’s getting a little better now that we have the vaccine, but we’re still so far from returning back to normal.”

Wong, now 64 with more than 30 years in the industry, said he hadn’t been thinking about retirement. “At first it was difficult to look for a silver lining. I’d always talked about staying positive, so I thought I’d better practice what I preach.

“After the first month I started to focus on my health, eat better, eat healthier, exercise a lot, read a lot more.”

He still cooks a lot at home, preparing vegan and vegetarian meals for his longtime fiancee Alice Inoue, a vegetarian.

Nearly five months later, Wong is about to make a foray back to the kitchen as a guest chef at the Pacific Club. The April 22 dinner sold out within minutes of its announcement last month, and although Wong had set a limit of 60 dinners, the private club expanded capacity to 78 due to demand. Even so, at the time of our interview last week, there was a waitlist of 218.

He’s bringing back classic dishes that people miss, such as The Tomato, a whole blanched tomato and Japanese cucumber salad with li-hing vinaigrette; and Soup and “Sandwich,” grilled foie gras and kalua pork on a mozzarella crisp, perched over a martini glass of chilled tomato soup. He’ll also be offering a few other pupu items and soy-braised short ribs, with Pacific Club chef Eric Leterc offering one of his own dishes, and dessert by Leterc’s staff.

With such a long waitlist, you’d think they could turn the one night into a week of dinners, but Wong is taking it slow.

“I just wanted to keep it simple and see how it goes,” he said. “When people recognize me on the street they always ask, ‘When are you going to open?’ Or (they’ll) say, ‘Please open again.’ But I think it’s still not a great time for restaurants.”

Still, he doesn’t rule out ownership of another restaurant one day.

“I miss the restaurant, the people, including the staff and the guests. It makes me happy to see other people happy about something I’d been working on, and I miss not spending every day, not only working on my craft, but teaching it.

“I miss that rush of being in the kitchen during service. Some people don’t like the stress, but I love it.”

Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.