LIHU’E — Rampy’s restaurant, known for its family-style food and atmosphere, has closed at Kukui Grove Center but will reopen within the next six months, say the owners of the eatery. Aug. 13 was the last day for dining at
LIHU’E — Rampy’s restaurant, known for its family-style food and atmosphere, has closed at Kukui Grove Center but will reopen within the next six months, say the owners of the eatery.
Aug. 13 was the last day for dining at the shopping mall location. Val Sekimoto, the restaurant’s manager and co-owner with her husband, Stan, said the decision to move was made earlier that week after lease negotiations ended with the mall’s management.
Sekimoto said she and her husband “need a break—a timeout. Then we’ll decide where to reopen.” No prospective new sites are in mind, she said.
Rampy’s would have marked its fourth year at the mall location this October.
Twelve employees, including Sekimoto’s daughter and two nieces, are affected by the closure.
“I feel really depressed for them. They’re all like family. All of them worked here all four years,” Sekimoto said, adding all of them will be rehired “if they want to come back.” Sekimoto said she’ll also miss the customers, regular and new.
“Our last day was sad—but we went out with a bang. The people were so great tu us, just like they always have been,” she said.
Editor Pat Jenkins can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 227) or pjenkins@pulitzer.net
