Waioli Tea Room lease set to expire; future uncertain

The next sentence may send up wails and groans audible across Oahu.

The historic and beloved Waioli Tea Room & Bakery will change after its 10-year lease expires in early November.

Its famed chicken curry salad and daily baked guava bread, lilikoi bread, scones and more may cease to be served before Nov. 3, but the closing date is uncertain.

"The lease is up and I had a chance to renew, but decided not to," said restaurant operator Brian Jahnke. "Gas, water and electric doubled," he said. Utilities went up by $5,000 a month, and those expenses plus rent, maintenance and insurance make the operation "not profitable for me."

The Salvation Army, which owns the tea house and has leased it to Jahnke for the past decade, plans to continue running it as a restaurant but not much is known beyond that.

"We have ideas but nothing is confirmed yet," said Major John Chamness, divisional commander of the Salvation Army in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands.

One of the ideas is for the Salvation Army itself to run the facility.

"We’re hoping we can come up with a plan internally to run the tea room as a venture for the Salvation Army again," as it did for many years since its establishment in 1922.

People in its various treatment programs might staff the facility as part of their rehabilitation, or the tea room could be leased to another restaurant operator.

"At this point, all options are on the table," Chamness said, indicating that by some time this summer, officials should have a clearer idea of the tea room’s future.

Jahnke assumed operation of the storied tea room in 2003. "I took over … because it was my favorite restaurant and I’d heard that it was closing," he said. He called the Salvation Army to complain about the planned closure "and six weeks later I was running the place. You have to be careful what you complain about," he chuckled.

He wasn’t just "any old customer." He had more than 20 years’ experience managing Keo’s Thai Cuisine in Waikiki on his food-and-beverage industry resume.

Jahnke speaks reverently of the Waioli Tea Room. "It’s part of Hawaii’s history, like the last holdout of old Hawaii. It’s just been a great run for me," he said. He just can’t afford to continue.

"There’s so much history here," he said, citing Princess Kaiulani’s grass hale in the back, the filming of part of Elvis Presley’s "Blue Hawaii" on site. "It’s an experience, Hawaiian-style, you can feel the mana," Jahnke said.

He owns all the restaurant equipment, furnishings, dishes, glassware and table settings, so he is waiting to learn whether the Salvation Army, or perhaps the next operator, will buy him out, or if he’ll have to close before Nov. 3 to sell off the inventory.

His 30 employees also are waiting to find out the plan.

In the meantime, the Waioli Tea Room & Bakery is open seven days a week, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday for lunch and its famous high tea, and from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays for breakfast, lunch, and high tea. It also is a popular place for private functions, including evening events.

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Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com, or on Twitter as @erikaengle.