Once President Barack Obama and his family arrive for their annual Hawaii Christmas trip, the White House press corps is going to have to make a major adjustment.
Mekong II Thai Cuisine closed in July. It was the press corps hangout while the prez and pals dined at nearby Alan Wong’s — and they loved it, according to insider and Star-Advertiser co-worker Allison Schaefers.
After three decades of operations, the Mekong II lease was due to expire, hence the decision to close, said Keo Sananikone, brother of owner Jean Hu and Thomas Sananikone, a silent partner.
Another reason for closing was "because my sister reached her retirement age and wanted to spend more time with her family," Keo Sananikone said.
Keo Sananikone also is a well-known restaurateur, in business since the late 1970s, serving Thai food to celebrities since his days on Kapahulu Avenue. Back in the day, you couldn’t throw a stick at a gossip column without reading about yet another Hollywood, recording industry, professional sports or other type of celebrity who had dined at Keo’s Thai Cuisine.
"At the present we have Keo’s at the Ambassador Hotel and Keoni by Keo’s at the Ohana East Hotel on Kuhio Avenue," he said.
Sananikone attributes the restaurants’ longevity and popularity to "the consistency of our food quality and our service, which have attracted Hollywood celebrities and Southeast Asian royalty."
———
On the Net:
» www.whca.net
» www.keosthaicuisine.com
RADIO STATION SOLD
KLZY-FM 102.9, licensed to Paia, Maui, has been sold to Colorado-based Kona Coast Radio LLC by Chaparral Broadcasting Inc., which built the station.
Kona Coast paid $175,000 for the station known as "Maui FM one-oh-two-nine," which plays an eclectic mix of music including Hawaiian and rock hits.
According to an online video interview, the station can be heard on Maui, Molokai, Lanai and at least parts of Hawaii island, indicating pretty decent signal strength.
Kona Coast owner Vic Michael owns FM translators on Oahu, including at 99.1 FM and 105.5 in Honolulu and 103.9 in Waipahu. He also has applied for a construction permit to build a translator for the 107.1 frequency in Kahuku.
KLZY was Chaparral’s only Hawaii broadcast facility. It owns nine other full-power radio stations in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, some of them focused on the ski scene. It has applied with the Federal Communications Commission for seven construction permits for AM stations and FM translators on the mainland.
———
On the Net:
» mauifm.com
» wn.com/klzy
» is.gd/KLZYapaKCR
———
Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
