Stage Restaurant debuts new look at Honolulu Design Center

Ron de Guzman needed some extra space in his kitchen at Stage Restaurant, a little more room to set up for bigger events. So he thought he’d ask.

De Guzman got not just a bigger kitchen, but a whole new restaurant.

Thomas Sorensen, owner of the Honolulu Design Center, which houses Inspiration Interiors and Stage, decided de Guzman’s request was a good reason to call for a full revamp.

Last week he unveiled Stage’s ceiling-to-floor new look.

“With all the new restaurants opening in town I thought, ‘It’s time to do a makeover,’” Sorensen said.

And that it is, a complete redesign that is a departure from the contemporary theme of his Inspiration stores. He wanted something more tropical and organic, Sorensen said. The direction took his own designers by surprise. “They said, ‘Are you sick? Are you OK? Sit down.’”

In the end, the kitchen build-out cost about $100,000, the new restaurant furnishings, $250,000. The designer was Kenneth Cobonpue of the Philippines, known for handcrafted furnishings made with natural materials.

The result is nothing like the current bare- brick-industrial look of most new Honolulu restaurants. It’s funky, fun and filled with intriguing elements, from cloudlike light fixtures, to flying-mannequin chandeliers, to chairs with high backs that resemble giant leaves.

The makeover was done in just two weeks, with Sorensen a hands-on contributor. “If the devil is in the details,’ his wife, Michele, said, “then Thomas is possessed.”

Stage is located at 1250 Kapiolani Blvd. and is open for dinner Tuesdays through Sundays. Call 237-5429.

GALA PAYS TRIBUTE TO A FRIEND

Leeward Community College’s May 5 culinary arts gala, L‘ulu, pays tribute to Colin Nishida, owner of the Side Street Inn restaurants, who died in February.

Side Street will be among the food stations, preparing one of Nishida’s specialties, and other chefs will feature dishes inspired by Side Street fare.

Nishida will be honored as a “restaurateur and friend,” with a formal toast.

The night’s mixologists are working on cocktails honoring Nishida, using his drink of choice, vodka. Side Street Inn Rogue Ale, featuring Nishida’s image on the bottle, will be poured.

L‘ulu, the primary benefit for LCC’s culinary programs, features 13 chefs representing restaurants across Oahu, among them Alan Wong’s, Eating House 1849, Fete, Piggy Smalls and the restaurants at the Four Seasons Resort Ko Olina.

Chefs are paired with farmers, ranchers, fishermen and other food producers, to use their local ingredients in the night’s dishes.

Also to be featured: a silent auction and information sessions on topics including chocolate, coffee, pickling and aquaponics.

The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $100 through Sunday; $125 after that. Call 455-0300 or email fabiola@hawaii.edu.

— Betty Shimabukuro, Star-Advertiser