Cafe at museum to close over ‘unresolvable’ issues

The Hawaii State Art Museum will lose its second restaurant operator this month since 2012.

The resurrected Grand Cafe & Bakery will close May 22 after about two years in the historic building.

An email sent by Grand Cafe to customers Tuesday indicated the restaurant would close, citing "unresolvable problems" with the state and the Friends of Hawaii State Art Museum (HiSAM).

"We are unable to continue our business due to their lack of support and the untenable atmosphere," the email said.

The owners plan an auction in the restaurant on May 27.

Co-owner Mona Chang Vierra referred a Honolulu Star-Advertiser query to attorney Eric Seitz, who called the situation "contentious."

Kristine Altwies, president of the nonprofit Friends of HiSAM, disagreed with the characterization.

"I would not describe the relationship with Grand Cafe as having been contentious from the beginning," she said. "It is true that they have notified us of their intended departure. … We are always sad to see any relationship end."

She added that the Friends are in the process of discussing the next steps and that the nonprofit "does not operate alone in the management of the restaurant." Rather, the Friends are partners with the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and the state Department of Accounting and General Services, or DAGS, she said. "So there are many players in the current situation."

Seitz listed problems beginning with the air conditioning, "which hasn’t worked," he said.

The building is historic and is under the jurisdiction of DAGS, Altwies said. "We are not autonomous, nor are we able to make all of the decisions, nor do we control much of the physical plant," she said.

Chef and restaurateur Ed Kenney, who ran his restaurant Downtown @ HiSAM in the space from 2007 to 2012, "never, ever, ever complained about the air conditioning," Altwies said, adding that the space was rented to Grand Cafe "in a very clearly as-is condition."

Kenney could not be reached, but on his Twitter timeline he said, "The SFCA and Friends of HiSAM strike again," referring to the impending closure.

The original Grand Cafe & Bakery dates back to 1923 in Honolulu when it opened at 106 N. King St. where Bank of Hawaii now stands. Ti Chong Ho was a partner in the original restaurant that was resurrected by his granddaughter Mona Chang Vierra, her son and chef Anthony, and partner Patsy Izumo in 2005. The inability to renew their lease in the old Wing Coffee Co. building at 31 N. Pauahi St. forced them to close in late June 2012.

The closure of Downtown @ HiSAM in fall 2012 after five years allowed Grand Cafe its phoenix-like third resurrection.

Kenney still owns and operates Town, as well as the new Kaimuki Superette, and will soon open Mud Hen Water, all in Kaimuki.

Seitz outlined other problems that Grand Cafe owners could not get resolved, "so I instructed my clients to withhold their rent," he said. "Their response was not to come to the table, but to file a complaint to evict them."

The withheld rent and eviction matter were then resolved, Seitz said, "but there were a number of other things," including the matter of what Seitz alleges was the failure of HiSAM to refer private-party clients to Grand Cafe for catering, and difficulties allowing Grand Cafe to stage private events, with the ability to serve alcohol when appropriate.

More basically, however, "there have been numerous times the building hasn’t been opened, security hasn’t shown up, there have been drug users in the bathroom and plumbing issues that they haven’t fixed," Seitz said. The problems came to a head at Easter when a special event was planned, but Grand Cafe owners arrived to find the HiSAM building locked.

They were able to get in through a side entrance, "but undoubtedly people with reservations trying to get in, couldn’t get in," he said.

Grand Cafe has proposed to terminate the lease by mutual agreement "and the Friends have said no," Seitz said, indicating instead that a lawsuit would be filed to collect the remainder of the rent over the lease term.

The matter appears headed for litigation, Seitz said.