Two of eight signature restaurants at the International Market Place’s Grand Lanai will close within a couple months of each other.
The latest casualty is Yauatcha, which will serve its last dim sum Aug. 31. That follows the closure of the Japanese restaurant Baku in June.
Yauatcha is owned by Hakkasan Group, an international hospitality company which is part of Alliance International Investments LLC of Abu Dhabi. Hakkasan also owns Herringbone restaurant at the Grand Lanai, which will remain open.
“Yauatcha Waikiki has made the difficult decision to close the current operation at International Market Place,” a company spokeswoman said without giving a reason for the closure.
The all-day dim sum teahouse and patisserie opened in February 2017 and was well received by local food critics.
Michael Fenley, general manager of the International Market Place, said despite the two closures, Grand Lanai restaurants have been attracting strong traffic. The center originally anticipated tourists would make up about 80 to 90 percent of dining customers but were surprised that locals comprise about 40 percent of patrons, he said.
“We were amazed by that. Local residents are visiting in great numbers, much greater numbers than we ever anticipated, and our … tourist customers are coming in very strong numbers,” Fenley said.
However, the Yauatcha concept “just did not take off as they expected with the U.S. consumer,” he added.
Baku, which opened in August with a single operator, was “not able to be successful here,” though a different operation in that location that is “locally based with closer management ties will do very well.”
Fenley said he hopes to make an announcement soon for a new eatery at the former Baku space. The dining and shopping complex in the bustling Waikiki tourist district is also starting to work on leasing the Yauatcha location.
The remaining restaurants on the upper level are Eating House 1849 by Roy Yamaguchi, Flour & Barley Brick Oven Pizza, Goma Tei Ramen, Herringbone, Kona Grill and Stripsteak.
