Shimogawa Scoops

A new poke restaurant is opening in Waikiki, giving visitors a taste of one of Hawaii's most popular foods. The "Poke Bar" is opening at Waikiki Beach Walk on Lewers Street. MyMulgogi Inc., which heads this new establishment, filed a $160,000 building permit with city regulators for its new eatery. Honolulu architect Casey Kusumoto is listed as the architect for the project. Waikiki Beach Walk, which is adjacent to the Trump International Hotel at Waikiki Beach Walk, Halekulani hotel, Waikiki Parc and Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort, includes such tenants as Beach Walk Cafe, Candy Bar Hawaii, Cafe Glacé, Honolulu Cookie Co., Subway, Cheeseburger Beach Walk, Giovanni Pastrami, Roy's Waikiki, Yard House and Ruth's Chris Steak House. Managed by Outrigger Enterprises Group, Beach Walk includes about 45 shops and restaurants.

Yakiniku Don-Day, a popular Korean restaurant in Honolulu that lets you to grill your own food, is up for sale, according to a sales listing. Located at the Keeaumoku International Village on Keeaumoku Street, Yakiniku Don-Day, which was registered to do business in Hawaii in 2011, is on the market with an asking price of $250,000. List Sotheby's International Realty is the firm listing this 952-square-foot restaurant for sale, which includes all equipment and furniture, as well as the transfer of the existing liquor license. Another popular restaurant — Bread + Butter — also is on the market. This restaurant is located next to Shokudo Japanese Restaurant, which shares the same owner.

Kai Coffee Hawaii is opening its third cafe on Oahu and second one in Waikiki, the company's owner has confirmed. Owned by the husband-and-wife team of Sam and Natalie Suiter, who have more than 25 years of experience in this industry, Kai Coffee currently has two locations including one at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and in Downtown Honolulu near the corner of King and Alakea streets. It is opening its third cafe at the Pacific Beach Hotel, which is being transformed into the Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach. The $115 million renovation will also include two new restaurants by celebrity chef Masaharu Morimoto, as well as upgraded rooms and suites.

A new ice cream shop is opening in Honolulu, just in time for the hot summer months ahead. Arctic Cream, headed by JK Foods LLC, has filed a building permit to open its new shop at the Kingsgate Plaza on North King Street in the Honolulu neighborhood of Kalihi. Other tenants at the plaza include Jollibee, Jiffy Lube and Kings Dental Implants. JK Foods, which is managed by William Yu, registered the Arctic Cream trade name in March. Honolulu architect Roy K. Yamamoto is listed as the architect for this project. Some of its clients/projects include Crazy Shirts, Kincha Restaurant, Kyo-ya Restaurant, Grand Hyatt Wailea, Hyatt Regency Waikiki, Westin Maui and Hyatt Regency Waikoloa.

One of the largest exporters of Hawaii bottled water to Japan is building a new facility near Downtown Honolulu in the former space of Bella Pietra Design, according to public documents. On Tuesday, Toell USA filed several building permits with the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Planning and Permitting totaling more than $5 million for its new warehouse at 701 North Nimitz Highway. Toell USA, which exports Hawaii bottled water to Japan, uses reverse osmosis technology to purify its spring water, which is also marketed and sold to Southeast Asian countries. The company also has a facility on Moanalua Road in Aiea in Central Oahu. A few years ago, Bella Pietra, a natural stone company, moved its Nimitz Highway showroom and warehouse across the street to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs-owned Na Lama Kukui, formerly known as the Gentry Pacific Design Center.

A former pastry chef for the MGM Grand Las Vegas Hotel & Casino and the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa may be opening a dessert shop at the Safeway-anchored Hokulei Village shopping center in Lihue on the island of Kauai. Orly Yadao, who has recently formed a new business called "Orly Patisserie LLC," has filed a building permit to open a new shop at Hokulei Village, joining such tenants as Petco, Verde restaurant, Domino's pizza, Super Cuts, Sleep Train, Subway, Jack in the Box, Uncle's Shave Ice and Punzal Vision. Honolulu-based Commercial Consultant Inc. handles leasing for Hokulei Village, which is located near Kukui Grove Center, on behalf of landlord California-based TRC, formerly Terramar Retail Centers. Yadao, who was born in the Philippines, worked at such notable resorts in Las Vegas as the Paris hotel and the Bellagio. His LinkedIn profile shows that he worked as executive executive pastry chef for the Grand Hyatt on Kauai for about 11 years. Y

Honolulu regulators have cited The Howard Hughes Corp. for changing the use of its former Sports Authority store space on Ward Avenue in Kakaako without a building permit, according to public documents. On Friday, the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Planning and Permitting issued a notice of violation to the Texas-based developer for this building code violation. The former Sports Authority store, which closed as part of the sporting goods retailer's bankruptcy proceedings, is now being used by a dance theater production company. Before that, it was being used as a space for arts and crafts. The city said that the developer started work on that space at 333 Ward Ave. without first getting a building permit, and that occupancy of the building was changed from "mercantile" to "assembly" without first getting a certificate of occupancy. A building permit is required for the renovation and change in use of the building. Hughes Hughes has until