Kapolei’s Eating House 1849 to close

Roy Yamaguchi’s Eating House 1849 in Kapolei is closing at the end of the month after just over two years in business.

MMI Realty, the property manager for Kapolei Commons, said in a statement today that it is “working with a locally based restaurant group on a new concept to be announced soon,” to replace Eating House.

Yamaguchi said he had no regrets about the 160-seat restaurant’s short run, even though it did not do as well as he had hoped. “If anything, I probably built it too big,” he said.

But it gave his restaurant group a good introduction to the area and to a relatively affluent customer base with a good knowledge of food, Yamaguchi said.

He is working on another restaurant on that side of the island, although the only detail he would give is that it is “west of the airport.”

The bottom line, Yamaguchi said, is that Kapolei Commons would like to fill the space with a restaurant that can draw more people to the shopping center, which he understands. “We want to be sure we can perform to the fullest. If someone else can do it better, I’m for it 1,000 percent.”

Both parties described the Eating House partnership as a good one.

“We were honored to have Eating House 1849 as part of our Entertainment Center at Kapolei Commons but ultimately fully support their decision to close,” MMI said in its brief statement.

“We made a lot of friends out there,” Yamaguchi said. “That far exceeded the restaurant not doing as well as it could have done.”

The last day of operation will be March 31. The Roy’s group, which has 10 other restaurants in Hawaii, is trying to place the 50 Kapolei employees.