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Two world-famous Japanese chefs will expand their restaurant empires in Hawaii. Masaharu Morimoto will expand to Maui, while Nobuyuki Matsuhisa will expand his "Nobu" concept to Lanai. Both serve cuisine rooted in Japanese flavors and techniques but with international influences.
Precious little information is available about Nobu Lanai except that it and its Waikiki sister-restaurant now are in the process of hiring line cooks.
The new restaurant will open, likely with an appearance by Matsuhisa himself, at one of the two Four Seasons Resorts on the island, now owned by Oracle founder Larry Ellison. Many Americans gained familiarity with Matsuhisa from his appearances on "Martha Stewart."
Neither Nobu Restaurants nor resort officials were available for comment, but a help-wanted posting, seeking line cooks that "must be willing to travel and work between both properties," was posted on Craigslist on Thursday.
The global Nobu brand of restaurants — and, soon, hotel and residence concepts — sprouted from the chef’s eponymous eateries including Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills, Calif., and Aspen, Colo., as well as eight Nobu restaurants in the U.S. and seven in other countries.
Meanwhile, Nobu’s name also is now associated with a hospitality division that will open hotel and residential concepts beginning with Nobu Hotel at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas this year. Nobu Hotels also are planned for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; London; and Bahrain.
Morimoto Maui, meanwhile, is scheduled to open in the summer at Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort & Spa, a 15-acre beachfront resort also set to open this summer.
Andaz will be the result of a $90 million redevelopment of the Renaissance Wailea hotel, left vacant since 2007, according to a Star-Advertiser report two years ago. Andaz is the boutique brand of Hyatt Hotels Corp.
As at Morimoto Waikiki, Morimoto Maui will integrate fresh, locally sourced food products with Japanese techniques. Morimoto, known for his appearances on various incarnations of the cable show "Iron Chef," traditionally appears at and cooks during his restaurant openings.
The Maui restaurant will include a 57-seat indoor dining area, 56-seat outdoor terrace and 23-seat terrace bar.
Morimoto has numerous restaurants including his high-end eatery in Waikiki.
Hawaii-island-based KLEI-TV, a digital television station, has won "must-carry" status from the Federal Communications Commission, meaning the FCC has ordered Oceanic Time Warner Cable and Hawaiian Telcom Services Co. to carry the neighbor island station’s programming to their subscribers.
The FCC’s 12-page decision on the months-long back-and-forth between all involved was distributed this week. KLEI President Christopher Racine could not be reached for comment.
KLEI will be the first neighbor island station to receive statewide carriage via Oceanic. It’s not clear yet what channel Oceanic will designate for KLEI.
Hawaiian Telcom was ordered by the FCC to carry KLEI on its designated channel 6, which will result in the moving of KBFD-TV, a Korean-language station, to a different channel.
According to information the station submitted to the FCC, it airs 17 hours of locally produced programming each week including the nightly "KLEI News 6," a 10- to 12-minute newscast, and shows targeting specific ethnic demographics.
Oceanic Time Warner Cable President Bob Barlow said "we are still reviewing the decision," and could not say when the cable system would begin carrying the station.
Hawaiian Telcom also is reviewing the order, after learning of the FCC decision Monday.
"Because adding any new TV programming content requires detailed technical planning and setup, and because seeking further FCC consideration is a possibility, it is too early to project a carriage date," said Ann Nishida, Hawaiian Telcom spokeswoman.
KLEI-AM 1130 was a Kailua-based, Windward Oahu institution for many years, sporting perfect call letters for the state of Hawaii. The AM station changed hands and call letters decades ago.
KLEI-TV is a commercial digital station licensed to Mauna Kea Broadcasting Co., while KLEI-FM 91.3, in Kailua-Kona, is licensed to the nonprofit Aina‘e Co. Ltd. Both list Racine as president.
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