Restaurant Transitions: Goodbye, But Not for Long

The facts about six Honolulu eateries that hope to reopen, one that isn’t closing and one that’s gone for good.

December 20, 2023

Mari Taketa,

Restaurants close for a variety of reasons, none of which offer much solace to bereft customers. Those that shuttered this year on O‘ahu include Pah Ke’s Chinese Restaurant, Angelo Pietro, Pauoa Chop Suey, Chuck’s Cellar, Piggy Smalls, Little Village Noodle House, Nam Fong, Restaurant Do-ne, Tenkaippin, Far East Chop Suey and Hellenic Kitchen.

Before we get too sad, some eateries’ closures are only temporary transitions. We found six that are taking a pause before relocating or refocusing, and two more that have been the subject of rumors we hope we can help dispel.

Chi-Chan’s Okazu-ya

Kāne‘ohe has lost one of its two longtime okazuya, but it’s getting a new bento shop. Chi-Chan owners Chiemi and Joe Kochi announced via a sign at the okazuya recently that Chi-Chan’s will close during the last two weeks of 2023 and reopen on Jan. 2 with its new format. Here’s hoping the famous miso baked salmon and eggplant are on Chi-Chan 2.0’s bento menu.

45-1127 Kamehameha Hwy

Duk Kee Chinese Restaurant

Rumors have been swirling for months about the future of this 12th Avenue fixture. Opened in the 1980s, Duk Kee is not closing—but there are some changes about which the restaurant has been vague. New owners? “Maybe,” is the answer. New cooks? “Some retired.” We’re just glad we can still get the restaurant’s three-egg custard and steamed pork hash with salty fish.

1146 12th Ave., (808) 734-1337

Fish & Rice

Fish And Rice Clam Nigiri Set 2 Mari Taketa

Clam nigiri set. Photo: Mari Taketa

As announced on its Instagram, the famously good sushi counter inside Palama Supermarket Makaloa will close for good after Jan. 10, 2024. In its place, expect an express takeout sushi counter—sans veteran sushi maker Kishimoto-san (we couldn’t get his first name), formerly of OG Mō‘ili‘ili izakaya Imanas Tei Restaurant. He’ll take a break for a while, he tells us, then look for a spot to open a takeout or dine-in sushi counter. Watch Fish & Rice’s Instagram for updates.

1670 Makaloa St., (808) 367-0863, fishandricehawaii.com, @fishandricehonolulu

Giovedi

Photo: Thomas Obungen

Giovedi, the Kaka‘ako prix fixe pop-up that opened last spring with a changing menu of Asian-inflected Italian creations, has closed, but not permanently. Jennifer Akiyoshi, Bao Tran and Jake Saito—she ran operations while they ran the kitchen, the same roles the trio played in opening Kapolei’s Mad Bene in 2019—are working toward a brick-and-mortar with a more permanent setup. They’re keeping details under wraps until things are finalized.

giovedihawaii.com, @giovedirestaurant

Ichifuji

Photo: Thomas Obungen

Hawai‘i’s only oxtail hotpot restaurant is closing at the end of the year and reopening in February as an izakaya. The same group has found success with the only local branch of Tori Ton, a cozy, rustic and perennially busy yakitori eatery downstairs at street level in Mō‘ili‘ili’s Old Stadium Square.

2334 S. King St. Suite C, 2nd floor, (808) 367-0012

S&S Thai Kitchen

First a food truck, then a kiosk at Ala Moana Center’s Shirokiya Japan Village Walk, then a dine-in restaurant in Waikīkī, this Thai-Laotian specialist moved across the island to Ka Makana Ali‘i in 2020, only to close in October. Now, according to an Instagram post late Tuesday night, it’s reopening still further west—in Waianae near Baskin-Robbins. The targeted opening date is Jan. 5, 2024.

87-2070 Farrington Hwy, (808) 341-2115, sandsthaikitchen.com, @ssthaikitchenhawaii

Sho’s Kitchen

Photo: Gregg Hoshida

We heard rumors that Sho’s Kitchen was transitioning; sadly, it has permanently closed. Owner Shoji Namatame, who ran Sho’s Kitchen with wife Miki, says lease negotiations at 808 Center fell through. The former Trump Waikīkī executive chef served up Nihon-style bentos and even had a seven-course chef’s table dinner series. Now, Namatame emails, “I’m going back to hotel business again. I will work at the Hotel Nikko San Francisco. I hope to go back to Honolulu sometime!”

Westman Café

Westman Cafe Souffle Pancakes Katrina Valcourt

Photo: Katrina Valcourt

Moving toward a format of smaller restaurants, Westman Corp.—owner of Shokudo, Kaimukī Shokudo, Buho Cocina y Cantina and its Fukurou sushi bar—is closing its airy, cathedral-ceilinged Waikīkī space in favor of smaller digs. Look for it to reopen at Kō‘ula, the Ward Village condo tower that also houses Nori Bar, later in 2024. What about Westman’s menu, with its fluffy soufflé pancakes and my favorite oxtail soup: Will that change? “In a way, kinda,” texts Ryan Ko, vice president of operations. “But the brunch menu will stay the same. We’re going to add a good dinner service.”