Longtime Honolulu restaurateur Dave Stewart will shut down Brasserie Du Vin after service Saturday due to a lease dispute with Plumbers and Fitters Union Local 675, which owns the property.
The union wanted a 50 percent increase in lease rent for the restaurant at 1115 Bethel St., when a 10 percent increase is standard, Stewart told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
"The plumbers union owns the building that we’re in, and they just don’t like me. I’ve upset one of them somehow and they’ve done everything in their power (to get me out)," Stewart said.
Neither the union, which is the restaurant’s neighbor at 1109 Bethel St., nor its leasing agent responded to multiple requests for comment.
"I am proud of the impact Du Vin has made in Honolulu, especially being part of the exciting developments to the downtown-Chinatown community in the last decade," Stewart said in a statement. "I feel we provided something innovative, yet authentic to the local dining scene."
On the former site of Harbor Lounge, Du Vin opened in 2006 as a means for Stewart and his wife, Mari, to "recreate their favorite European experiences" in a 150-seat space just steps from the iconic Hawaii Theatre and a few blocks away from the crowded bars and clubs of Hotel Street.
"I had hoped the property owners would give consideration (to) the value Du Vin brings to the neighborhood, that rent was paid without fail and that we have the experience of running a restaurant in the often tenuous food and beverage market," Stewart said. "Not only does closing Du Vin affect our guests and neighbors, but it affects the 32 dedicated employees who have helped make us a success."
Stewart will not try to reopen Brasserie Du Vin in another location, he said.
Meanwhile, his other nearby businesses, Bar 35 and lounge eleven44, will remain open as usual.
In its remaining days Du Vin will open for lunch at 11:30 a.m. and will stay open through happy hour and dinner service "until late," according to its website. Stewart will say mahalo to guests with half-off prices on spirits, beer and wine (both bottles and by the glass) through midnight Saturday or while inventory lasts.
