Victoria Inn will close for good at 2 p.m. Sunday, after more than 30 years of serving home-style Japanese, American and other local-style favorites in Kaimuki.
The restaurant is both beloved and dismissed for its old-style atmosphere and menu, according to several online sites that allow diners to post comments.
Its ownership is unclear, as management representatives did not return calls, but employees verified the restaurant’s impending closing.
The most recent posts on the restaurant’s Facebook page are 2 years old and tout its oxtail soup and Japanese breakfast.
Three previous owners are deceased. Ted Gonsuke Tamashiro, 90, died in 2001, and his wife Edith Kiyoko, 80, followed in 2004. Yoshikiyo Sadoyama died at 77 in January 2000.
The three and other partners also had interests in Mollie’s Cafe, and the previous incarnation of Violet’s Grill on Dillingham Boulevard, according to a 2004 issue of the Hawaii United Okinawa Association’s Uchinanchu newsletter. Common ownership of Kamehameha Grill and Waikiki Diner also was mentioned in newspaper obituaries published in 2004.
Jellys add to the slipper market
Hawaii’s latest player in the higher-end rubber slipper market is not new to the footwear game — and the product is not your grandfather’s rubber slipper.
Paul Gerstenberger, co-owner of Hawaiian Jellys LLC, was previously referenced in this space as inventor of electricity- generating hiking boots bearing high-tech gadgetry that will help hikers and other outdoorsy types in case of extreme cold or dark, or those in need of rescue. The boots also will recharge a user’s mobile device on the fly.
The Waikoloa-based inventor’s latest product is still high tech, but the footwear doesn’t generate electricity.
It has, however, generated buzz, he says.
"We have gotten quite a response already as everyone seems to love them," said Gerstenberger. He hopes to create "a bunch of new jobs" in Hawaii stemming from the new slipper line.
Being sold only to the wholesale market, the line is available in 11 color combinations that range from shocking to sedate. The sculpted design aims to end toe-stubbing, "heel drift" and uneven wear, among other touted benefits.
As with Gerstenberger’s Zapps Global Inc. footwear, multiple patents are pending for Hawaiian Jellys slippers, pertaining to design elements, gel inserts to cushion against foot fatigue and the like.
» hawaiianjellys.com
Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com, or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
