LIHU’E — Green naugahyde booths, stacks of bento lunches waiting to be bought, gravy-covered loco moco meals, boxes of Kauai Kookies and quick lunchtime service for those on noontime lunch breaks. All will soon be just memories when the island’s
LIHU’E — Green naugahyde booths, stacks of bento lunches waiting to be bought, gravy-covered loco moco meals, boxes of Kauai Kookies and quick lunchtime service for those on noontime lunch breaks.
All will soon be just memories when the island’s last Kauai Kitchens closes on January 16.
The snack shop in Lihu’e is owned and operated by Big Save Inc. and has served local-style meals for over 30 years.
The restaurant is located in the Rice Shopping Center and is the last Kauai Kitchens eatery still in business. The eateries were once busy breakfast time and lunch-hour favorites located alongside Big Save grocery stores in the Kapa’a Shopping Center, in the Big Save in Koloa town and in the town center of Waimea.
Big Save’s Vim ‘N Vigor health food store, located next door to the Lihu’e Kauai Kitchens, and also owned by Big Save, closed down about a week ago. Its avocado sandwiches were popular with the health-conscious. A health food store operator is planning to reopen later this month in the now-empty store.
“It was purely a business decision,” said Big Save Inc. President Charles Kawakami on the closing of Kauai Kitchens. “We decided to not re-lease the space. We had a change in plans.”
“It is a combination of several things,” said Kauai Kitchens manager Donna Fujiwara of the closing. “Economically, things have become really expensive. We have done everything possible to not raise prices.”
Fujiwara added that problems with the facility itself contributed to the close.
“Things have really fallen apart,” she said. “We have had problems with the plumbing and leaks in the ceilings. The building itself is really run down. I think that Big Save just considered us to be obsolete.”
Lyle Kobashigawa, Kauai Kitchens Food Service Manager, agreed, and said it was sad to see the restaurant close down.
“It was the last one. Local people like the food, the bentos and the plate lunches. It is really hard to see it close down.”
Business Editor Barry Graham may be reached at 245-3681 (ext.) 251 or mailto:bgraham@pulitzer.net
