Shimogawa Scoops

Liliha Bakery is expanding to Waikiki with a new location at the International Marketplace, according to public records. Known for its famous coco puffs, the iconic bakery and restaurant, which is spearheaded by restaurateur Peter Kim, filed a building permit Monday for its new space on the third floor of the marketplace. The space was formerly occupied by Kaku’s Sushi and Seafood Buffet and Yauatcha Waikiki.  Liliha Bakery currently has three locations, including its original restaurant and bakery in the Liliha neighborhood of Honolulu, as well as another location along Nimitz Highway in Iwilei and at Ala Moana Center, its newest eatery. It was only a matter of time before the popular local establishment expanded to Waikiki, where it is sure to be a big hit amongst the millions of tourists who visit the state’s tourism mecca each year.  Well-known local architect Roy Yamamoto is the architect for the project.  The International Marketplace has recently added more of a lo...

Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen, which is known mainly for its uber-popular chicken sandwiches that creates long lines at its drive-thru locations, is expanding to West Oahu with a new location in the works in Kapolei, public records show. This week, the chicken fast-food restaurant chain, which is owned by the Uezi family, has six locations in Hawaii, all of which are on Oahu. Popeye’s filed building permits with the city on Friday for its seventh restaurant in Hawaii to be located at 500 Kamokila Blvd., which is at the property once anchored by Kmart. The property is owned by James Campbell Co. Popeye’s, which officially began the chicken sandwich wars, and is known by many as the chicken sandwich king, has encountered some competition from other fast-food giants such as McDonald’s, and most recently, Burger King, which unveiled its Ch’King chicken sandwich this week.

A new restaurant and bar inspired by New Orleans’ popular Bourbon Street has recently opened in the former Mandalay Restaurant space in Downtown Honolulu. Bourbon Street Restaurant and Bar serves creole-style meals for lunch and dinner, and also features live music and an oyster bar.  Located on Alakea Street, it hopes to attract both the downtown lunch and happy hour crowds, which are slowly starting to come back to the area. Bourbon Street should do well in Honolulu, mainly because of the lack of competition in this market, but it will be a challenge since the effects of the pandemic are still lingering in Honolulu.

  All 38 units  of Honolulu’s newest affordable rental complex are now occupied  after   h undreds applied  to rent a  unit at the complex . Developed in partnership between  Geyser Holdings  and the City and County of Honolulu, the “Residence at Maunakea”  is a unique opportunity  for residents to live  right in the middle of Oahu’s historic Chinatown neighborhood and near the bustling downtown financial district where living, eating and playing all in the same area is more than just a possibility – it’s reality.  Located on the second floor of the legendary Maunakea Marketplace, home to Hawaii’s ethnic shops and eateries, the Residence at Maunakea  Marketplace ’s 38 rental  units encompass studio, one, and two-bedroom units, ranging in size from approximately 300 square feet to around 775 square feet. The   new units replac ed  the second floor office and retail spaces, and  were  ready to occu...

Will Smith’s former 28-acre Hawaii estate on the island of Kauai has been sold for about $24 million, according to public records. The actor, singer and producer who has starred in such films as “Men in Black,” “Bad Boys,” “Wild Wild West” and “I am Legend,” purchased the Kilauea property on Kauai’s North Shore in 2009 for $13.5 million.  Smith then sold it to the heiress of a Russian oligarch billionaire for $20 million just two years later. This month, the Russian heiress sold the pristine property that overlooks Secret Beach for $24.1 million estate to a California entity. Kauai’s North Shore has been a hot spot for celebrities who continue to snatch up properties in this beautiful area of the Hawaiian Islands.  

  Chick-fil-A is expanding to Windward Oahu, opening its second location in Hawaii at the former Kaneohe Bakery property along Kamehameha Highway, public records show. The popular Atlanta-based chicken restaurant chain has recently filed permits with the city for the former Kaneohe Bakery property, which had been on the market with Action Realty for $3 million. The property consists of a 4,597-square-foot commercial building and two smaller residential properties on a nearly 20,000-square-foot parcel of land right in the middle of the Kaneohe Business District. In 2019, Chick-fil-A announced its plans to expand to Hawaii with its first location in the Burger King restaurant space along Beretania Street in Honolulu. Chick-fil-A’s entrance and expansion into the Hawaii market is long overdue and is one of several new restaurants or retailers to finally make the jump over the Pacific Ocean to open their first location in the Islands, which is a welcoming sight for both resid...

Moani Island Bistro and Bar, a popular establishment in West Oahu, is expanding east with a new location in Waikiki at the International Marketplace, public records show. Moani, which is the local version of “Cheers,” is opening in the former Kona Grill space at the Waikiki shopping mall. Moani filed a permit this week to build out its second floor space at IMP, which will join other restaurants such as ShoreFyre Grill, Eating House 1849 by Roy Yamaguchi, Stripsteak and a new pizza brew pub opening in the former Flour & Barley space.  Moani, which has a heavy live music lineup and a solid menu that includes mainly local favorites such as smoked meat, spicy ahi nachos and sizzling kalbi, has grown to become the go-to bar and bistro in West Oahu. It hopes to ride that wave of popularity into the state’s tourism mecca  of Waikiki.