Chefs Mina, Yamaguchi to open in Waikiki
Celebrated chef-restaurateurs Michael Mina and Roy Yamaguchi will open restaurants in the new International Market Place in Waikiki.
The 10 new restaurants planned include two food venues of Mina’s creation.
He will introduce a 12,500 square-foot, multi-concept gourmet food hall called THE STREET. Diverse food and beverage choices including Japanese ramen and classic American street food, as well as handcrafted cocktails and culinary souvenirs will be offered.
The second concept Mina will open in the marketplace will be STRIPSTEAK, his award-winning restaurant, to be located on the center’s third-floor lanai. Serving prime steak and imported Wagyu beef, the restaurant also will offer fish, seafood, and seasonal produce. This will be Mina’s third STRIPSTEAK and it is his first restaurant in Hawaii.
“I’ve been traveling to Hawaii for years and have fallen in love with its culture. I’ve been wanting to do a project there for a very long time,” he said in a news release.
Mina has received exclusive Michelin star ratings at his namesake Michael Mina restaurants in San Francisco and Las Vegas, and is a James Beard culinary foundation award-winner. Michelin stars are awarded by a French travel guide based on a stringent list of criteria and are awarded only in certain markets in Europe and the United States.
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Roy Yamaguchi, Hawaii’s first James Beard award winner, will open his third Eating House 1849 location at the International Market Place. His first one opened on Kauai earlier this year, and he recently revealed to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that his second location would open in Kapolei Commons in the spring.
Yamaguchi operates his eponymous Roy’s restaurant, focused on Hawaii regional cuisine, at Waikiki Beach Walk, while Eating House 1849 is a different concept that “pays homage to Hawaii’s multiethnic island culture,” he said in a statement.
Other restaurants to open at the new International Market Place include Flour & Barley, a pizza restaurant helmed by Executive Chef Anthony Meidenbauer; Kona Grill; and the Goma Tei ramen restaurant.
Additional restaurants and concepts will be announced over the coming months and into next year, and will include a venue by Hakkasan Group, owned by an Abu Dhabi-based investment company. It specializes in high-end restaurants, nightclubs, and so-called “day clubs” that include swimming pools. Hotels also are under development via a Hakkasan joint venture.
The center is set to open in August, anchored by Hawaii’s first Saks Fifth Avenue. It is being developed by Michigan-based Taubman Centers Inc. and CoastWood Capital Group, based in San Francisco, in conjunction with Hawaii’s Queen Emma Land Co. The new IMP will have about 75 retailers in addition to the restaurants, and will offer 700 parking spaces and valet parking service.