If they held a master class on restaurant resilience in these worst of times, it could be taught by Kevin Aoki and Peter Kim, two Hawaii entrepreneurs who have come through these bad months not just as survivors, but seemingly on the rise.
Aoki, founder of the Doraku Japanese restaurants, is growing from two Oahu locations — Kakaako and Waikiki — to three, adding one in Kapolei next year. In 2020, just as we were learning the depth of the COVID-19 threat, he opened two new concepts, Qing Mu Noodle and 1938 Indochine, in Kakaako. He’s also taking over Rocky Teppanyaki at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which once upon a time was his dad’s Benihana restaurant.
Kim, owner of the Yummy Korean BBQ group, also helms two high-end steakhouses, with one of them, Little Joe’s, opening during the pandemic. He’s also been expanding the Liliha Bakery brand.
Both notably moved into the International Market Place last month, taking over for an international restaurant group that gave up the ghost here during the bad times. Kim’s Liliha Bakery has opened in the space formerly held by Yauatcha dim sum tea house; Aoki has taken over Herringbone Waikiki. Both had been properties of Hakkasan Group.
They aren’t the only ones. The Market Place, which opened in 2016 with a largely national/international slate of restaurants, has been infused with local blood in the last few weeks. The Keolanui family of entertainers expanded their Moani Island Bar &Bistro, based in Kapolei, to tourist land, as Moani Waikiki. And The Street Food Hall, opened under celebrity chef Michael Mina’s restaurant group, has been taken over by the local collective Ho‘okipa Partners, which has renamed it Kuhio Ave Food Hall.
That original International Market Place lineup had some important local exceptions, among them ShoreFyre Fresh Grill &Bar, which has expanded within the center to open Skybox Taphouse in the old location of mainland pizza chain Flour &Barley. And there’s Eating House 1849 by Roy Yamaguchi, another restaurateur who could teach a master class — he did, in fact, last semester at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, while keeping his 10 Hawaii locations open.
The local incursions into this corner of Waikiki are a sign of hope for a battered industry.
As holiday celebrations commence, we take a moment away from distressing news about water contamination and viral mutations to applaud the local restaurateurs who’ve stuck with it. To say they’ve thrived is overstating it, as profits can’t help but be dampened by shutdowns, capacity restrictions and everything else that has been part and parcel of keeping us safe. They have, instead, persevered, with inventiveness and no small measure of financial courage.
Not only are restaurants a major source of local employment and income, they are huge contributors to our well-being and sense of normalcy. To gather with friends and family in a place we will be well fed and well tended is one of life’s pleasures. It is encouraging these days to walk around an area clustered with dining spots to see the activity, even in the middle of the week, as people find it safe enough to share a bite in public.
Congrats to all those — like Aoki, Kim and Yamaguchi — who kept their restaurant groups afloat. And to the Keolanui ohana and chefs like Chai Chaowasaree (he’s also moved into Waikiki with Kalo Hawaiian Food on Kuhio Avenue), who’ve nurtured a signature restaurant and now can expand. And to those who’ve held their small neighborhood eateries together through, in many cases, sheer force of will — like Miriam Olivas at Barrio Cafe in Wahiawa and Christie Morikawa of Bibimbap House in Waipahu.
By all means, if it’s in your budget and your personal sense of safety, support a local restaurant this season. Give your spirits a holiday lift.
