Outrigger’s Shore Bird Restaurant is closing next month

The 38-year-old Shore Bird Restaurant and Beach Bar at the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort will close after serving diners Sept. 30.

The Ocean House Restaurant, a Shore Bird affiliate at the hotel, also will close, but the closure date has not been announced.

The restaurants’ owners have decided to retire and not seek a lease extension, according to a statement from John Pederson Ltd., the parent company.

The Shore Bird’s beachfront, grill-your-own meat or fish concept was popular over the decades with residents and visitors, including celebrities, as were its weekly bikini contests.

Outrigger Hotels &Resorts will open The Reef Bar and Market Grill in the 12,000‑ square-foot space in mid- to late October, said Kelly Hoen, area general manager for Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort and Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort.

The space will be “refreshed” to create a new, “more upscale environment” that will include some nostalgic touches such as the old hotel logo, Hoen said, adding that “the iconic grill is absolutely a part of the experience” that will continue to be offered in the space.

Current Shore Bird and Ocean House employees who want to work at the new, Outrigger-run restaurants have begun the application and interview process. Hoen estimated the restaurants would need more than 100 employees.

The Ocean House will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner for Outrigger guests while the Shore Bird space is renovated.