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STAR-BULLETIN / 1979
Pedi-cabS wait for customers in front of the old International Market Place
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COURTESY TAUBMAN CENTERS INC.
A rendering of the new International Market Place
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The redeveloped International Market Place is ready to open as a shopping and dining destination that will be decidedly different from its predecessor.
Hawaii’s first full-line, upscale Saks Fifth Avenue store opens for business Thursday, as does Stripsteak, a modern take on the American steakhouse by Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur Michael Mina. Add to the list Roy Yamaguchi’s Eating House 1849, Kona Coffee Purveyors cafe, with San Francisco-based b.patisserie making baked goods in-house, and the Honolulu Cookie Co.
Other venues will open in the coming weeks and months.
Most options will be upscale, national or global brands, but more affordable, locally based options are also set to open on the property, owned by the Queen Emma Land Co. and leased and developed by Michigan-based Taubman Centers Inc.
Preserved in the space are several trees with large canopies, including a banyan that offers residents a nostalgic tie to what used to be. The old marketplace, a casual, kitschy collection of kiosks and other vendors, was also the site of a long-ago bar called the Cock’s Roost where many entertainers got their start. It was not the only space razed to make way for the new; the Waikiki Town Center and Miramar Hotel are also gone.
Follow Crave Thursday on social media as we explore the new International Market Place. Star-Advertiser videographer Kim Yuen will be live on Facebook at facebook.com/CraveHI. Erika Engle (@eriKaengle) and Nadine Kam (@nadinekam, @fashiontribe) will post on Instagram and Twitter.