PRINCEVILLE — Residents and visitors of Kaua’i will soon be able to enjoy what generations of San Franciscans have savored since 1932, the Sabella family’s famous Italian and seafood cuisine. The renowned restaurateurs will be offering their classic dishes at
PRINCEVILLE — Residents and visitors of Kaua’i will soon be able to enjoy what generations of San Franciscans have savored since 1932, the Sabella family’s famous Italian and seafood cuisine. The renowned restaurateurs will be offering their classic dishes at their new restaurant at Sabella’s in Princeville which opened on Friday.
Longtime residents of both Kaua’i and the San Francisco Bay Area, owners Rosalind Sabella and husband, Bob Clark, recently purchased the BeamReach restaurant with help from Lauren Angulo at Island Business Brokers.
“We really saw a need for this on the island,” said Sabella, who is fourth-generation Italian. “We had this on our minds for a while and finally our dreams came true.”
The restaurant is located next to the hotel in the Pali Ke Kua complex.
“We aim to provide fresh Italian and seafood dishes to the local community, with a focus on serving families,” said Sabella.
“We will have a large Keiki Menu and offer daily specials to present a continually changing menu for locals.” Local chef Danny Manaku, previously at the BeamReach restaurant, will prepare pasta and seafood dishes using organic produce and fresh fish from both Kaua’i and the San Francisco Bay Area.
“We’re going that extra mile to provide authentic and varied cuisine; for example, we will fly in fresh seasonal specialties such as crab and oysters from the San Francisco bay area,” Manaku added.
Clark and Sabella had been looking for the right restaurant opportunity on Kaua’i for years and finally found it in Princeville.
“Buying a restaurant can be extremely complicated and challenging; we spent the last 12 months working with Lauren Angulo at Island Business Brokers to make this dream a reality,” said Sabella.
“Lauren provided us with a continual flow of information and support in working through the process. She was knowledgeable about the many hurdles we needed to address, and we couldn’t be more excited about sharing our family recipes with Kaua’ians.”
“The key to this extremely complicated, but ultimately successful transaction was working with a knowledgeable, local professional who specialized in putting business sellers and buyers together. The essential ingredient was the fact that Lauren understood firsthand all of the intricacies that selling a business entails,” said Diana Anakalea, previous owner of the BeamReach Restaurant.
Anakalea also owns the “19th Hole” restaurant at the Wailua Golf Course and decided she was spreading herself too thin.
“Running one restaurant is certainly challenging enough, two was exhausting,” added Anakalea.
“I wanted to focus my energy on just one establishment, and decided to work with Lauren at Island Business Brokers after being unsuccessful with traditional realtors. Lauren really made this deal happen; she handled every dimension of the process professionally and effectively.”
Sabella’s has undergone extensive remodeling to make it brighter and more updated, including new paint and carpeting, a refinished bar and the addition of many nautical artifacts from the islands and beyond.
“Our family really helped us pull the new decor together and sent over many old, maritime objects,” said Sabella.
Several large paintings by local artist Jimmy Irons are featured and provide a warm, aloha atmosphere. On top of serving Italian and seafood fare, the new owners are excited to offer live dinner music.
Local and visiting artists, such as John Handy, whose soulful and fiery saxophone style is instantly recognizable to generations of jazz fans world-wide, will be featured.
“I’m thrilled to have Sabella’s open on the north shore. My family loves Italian food and I was happy to help bring this business to Kaua’i,” said Angulo.
“I have several clients who are looking for just the right spot to open a restaurant on the island, and I’m glad this turned out to be such a perfect fit for Sabella’s.” TGI Business Editor Barry Graham contributed to this story Lauren Angulo, Island Business Brokers
