HANALEI — The bar at Hanalei Dolphin hadn’t changed in more than 20 years, though a restaurant and sushi bar grew up around it.
Fridges that were just a bit too small, counter space that was a little cramped — bartenders worked around those minor inconveniences until a major inconvenience came along and changed everything.
Hanalei Dolphin Restaurant Fish Market and Sushi Lounge, which was closed since mid-April storms flooded Kauai’s North Shore, finally reopened Oct. 5.
“The flood destroyed a lot of what was in here,” said manager Morgan Needham, who has been at the Hanalei Dolphin Restaurant for 10 years. “Everyone’s been on unemployment for the last few months, so we’re all glad to be back.”
On the evening of April 14 the restaurant flooded. Vehicles were under water and employees were stranded. Water rose up to 5 feet inside the buildings, spurring a renovation that lasted six months.
Then, in August another storm dropped about 5 inches of water onto the property, nearly flooding the restaurant again. It didn’t wreak the havoc that April storms did, but did push the project back a couple weeks.
“Now pretty much everything’s new. We have changes to the bar, new chairs and lights,” Needham said, pointing to art on the walls by local artist Doug Britt.
New light fixtures were created by Kauai artist Chris Atkins from recycled marine debris. There’s a new open kitchen and the fish market was rearranged to create more open space for everyone.
“It’s great to be back to work,” said James Turner from behind the spicy ahi rolls and the fresh poke on display at the fish market.
Of the new renovations, he said: “It’s good back here. We got plenty room.”
Through a hallway — past a new walk-in freezer — in the Hanalei Dolphin kitchen, Roland Garcia was rolling out sushi and Storm Kam was whipping up a batch of sauce.
They’re part of a five-man sushi team that was prepping for the 4 p.m. opening of the restaurant.
“Good back here,” Garcia said, concentrating on the sushi in his hands.
The restaurant opens at 4 p.m. for sushi and cocktail hour, followed by dinner.
Opening up for lunch is still on the table, but might come later.
“The owners are still talking about what they want to do with that,” Needham said.
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Jessica Else, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0452 or jelse@thegardenisland.com.
It’s great to see the Dolphin back!