Jailhouse Pub & Grill opens across from correctional center

WAILUA — What do you get when a bail bondsman, a criminal defense attorney, a well-known chef and a culinary student decide to open an eatery?

The Jailhouse Pub & Grill.

Located at the Wailua Golf Course, almost directly across Kuhio Highway from Kaua‘i Community Correctional Center, the pub opened its doors to thirsty golfers at the end of April.

While General Manager Liana Soong said she’s received a lot of positive feedback for the pub, which won’t begin serving food until May 16, it has already gathered some flack for its cheeky name.

“We knew there was going to be a few people who might be offended by it,” Soong said. “But we were going to be the Jailhouse Pub regardless of where we were going to rent.”

More than a name

Here’s how it happened: Soong’s husband and co-owner of the restaurant, Mike Soong, is the former prosecutor of Kaua‘i County and now works as a criminal defense attorney. Fellow co-owner, Darrell Horner, operates Horner Bailbonds in Lihu’e. The two men, who like to fish with Chef Mark Oyama — a silent partner in the business — got to talking one day about opening a restaurant where they could serve what they catch.

At the same time, Soong was working her way through culinary school and they thought an eatery could be a good opportunity for her, she said. Soong suggested they name it the Jailhouse, as a nod to Horner and Mike’s day jobs.

Mike Soong said some naysayers claim the name draws attention to or is promoting crime on the island.

“I think that’s a little naive,” Mike Soong said. “ I can’t connect the dots on that logic, myself.”

The Soongs had planned to operate a restaurant in their retirement years, but the opportunity came along faster than they expected.

Late last year, Mike Soong learned the county was seeking bids to fill the space for its former bar “Par for the Course.” By February they were awarded the contract and a 7-year-lease, but the owners and Soong had no intention of giving their pub a golf name. Public houses (pubs) often used rabble-rousing names like Hooligans, Shenanigans and Scandals. According to mypubguide.com, there are at least five pubs in the United Kingdom named variations of The Jailhouse or the Old Jail.

KCCC Warden Neal Wagatsuma said he is happy to see another establishment on island and has no problem with the name.

“The name means really nothing,” Wagatsuma said. “It’s just across from the jail.”

After taking over the space, which needed a lot of work, Soong said inmates from the correctional center’s work furlough program came on three Saturdays and helped clean the place up.

“By the time they left, everything was sparkling,” Soong said at the pub on Monday.

The operators also are interested in hiring inmates with kitchen experience once they’ve been released.

“Darrell and I work in the criminal justice system,” Mike Soong said. “We know that the people that are in the jail, a lot of them are sons and daughters and brothers and sisters of people on Kaua’i, that either had a drug problem and got into trouble or did something wrong. Eventually they’re going to go back into the community.”

The staff is primarily made up of recent or soon-to-be grads of the Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Kaua‘i Community College.

“It’s almost a lab project for the Kaua‘i Community College,” Mike Soong said.

Concept

Beyond the name, the Jailhouse Pub plays up its motif with prison-themed drinks and black and white-striped flooring reminiscent of jail bars or an inmate uniform. Soong said she is also working with the Kaua‘i Historical Society to gain old photos of the island’s old jails. One bartender, Sachiko Rodgers, whose boyfriend is a correctional officer at KCCC, came up with a drink called the “Pink Room” named after the hole at the correctional facility. Standing in front of the fully stocked bar, she said the drink includes X-Rated liqueur, Stoli vodka and frozen passion fruit puree.

Despite its theme and name, the Jailhouse is suppose to be a fun place to hangout, grab a pint and eat some good food. Soong said she and Mike often look for pubs while traveling “because we know pubs are going to be fun and laid back and we can get a nice pint of Guinness.”

The menu for the restaurant includes the usual pub fair — fish and chips, corned beef and cabbage, bangers and mash, Irish breakfast — along with a mix of Hawaiian dishes, including Loco Moco. The Pub also offers a snack bar where patrons can pick up assorted musubi, fried pickles, burgers, malasadas and sandwiches, among other items. The pub is open from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. and will serve breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night meals.

Soong said all of the food is made on island, save for the blood sausage. She gets that from Kulana Foods in Hilo.

“They make the best and I couldn’t compete with that.”

Assorted fish caught by Horner and his business partners will also be available depending on what they catch. Horner said that could include uku, papio, weke ula and akule.

“No other restaurant on this island sells that kind of fish,” Horner said.

Soong said she has high hopes for the business, as it has a captive audience of golfers and is the only pub on island. On opening day, they served drinks to golfers from a 200-person tournament.

“It was a resounding success,” Soong said. “It was a great way to launch the pub.”