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Even in the best times, running a restaurant is a difficult business and the situation we are faced with in light of the coronavirus outbreak is unprecedented.
Never has there been a call for restaurants to shut down their dining rooms, as Gov. David Ige has mandated to prevent large gatherings that put people at risk of contracting the virus.
The only comparable event of this magnitude in the United States was 9/11, when the terrorist attacks exacerbated the 2001 recession. Areas that relied on tourism were hit hard as air travel was disrupted.
>> Photo Gallery: Hawaii restaurants shift to takeout orders during coronavirus
12TH AVENUE GRILL
1120 12th Ave., 732-9469, 12thavegrill.com. Curbside takeout 4:30 to 8 p.m. daily. Discounted specialties $10.50 to $30.
Longtime restaurateur Kevin Hanney was working as a caterer at the time and while he said that tragedy led to a dramatic decrease in business, “Luckily, I didn’t have much overhead at that time. I didn’t have very many full-time employees and I was able to get through that relatively unscathed. This is very different and scarier, because there’s so much unknown about this disease.”
Two days before Ige’s announcement last Wednesday, Hanney had already decided to close his dining rooms at 12th Ave Grill, Koko Head Cafe and his newly open Chopchop Rotisserie, and offer only curbside pickup service. “It didn’t seem right to encourage people to gather,” Hanney said.
Most of 12th Ave Grill’s menu will be available in the short-term with an eye on changes that take into account dishes that travel well, as well as availability of ingredients going forward.
On Thursday night, Jim Ludwig wanted to treat friends for dinner and was picking up dinner of scallops, meatloaf melt, mac and cheese and more to bring to their home.
“I want to help any way I can,” said the California resident who arrived in Hawaii before California announced its own state lockdown. Ludwig lost his home last year in the Woolsey fire that burned nearly 100,000 acres, killed three and forced the evacuation of 295,000 people in L.A.
MW RESTAURANT
1538 Kapiolani Blvd., 955-6505, mwrestaurant.com. Takeout hours 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily; calls taken from 9:30 a.m. Entrees with rice $15 to $18; sides $6 to $8; desserts $5 each.
At MW Restaurant, chef-owners Wade Ueoka and Michelle Karr-Ueoka launched their curbside service the day of the governor’s announcement, after having plotted their strategy at least two weeks earlier.
“As businesses slowly started to shut down we tried to plan, are we going to stay open or not stay open?” Wade said. “The supermarkets were so crazy, shelves were empty, so we thought maybe there was a way to work with what we have and give people what they’re looking for.
“What was most important to us was to give our staff an opportunity to work, support our farmers, our vendors and help people stay in business. We wanted to take care of people, so we cut our prices down. … We’re just trying to build upon the business, to stay in business, to stay alive.”
In addition to a la carte entrees, prime rib on Fridays, sides, desserts and family packs, the restaurant is offering MW Market items as a way to support small farms, such as Ho Farms cherry tomatoes at $4.95 per pound, OK Farm eggs and other local produce.
Kalowena Komeiji was among MW’s first takeout customers last week, picking up the restaurant’s $89 family meal for four that includes a salad, choice of two entrees, rice and chocolate cake. She opted for entrees of chicken and luau stew, adding on miso-braised short ribs for an additional $15. The takeout meal represented a major break from her usual routine of cooking every night.
“My home is actually stocked for emergencies because Hawaii has been so crazy with hurricane fears, and every time something happens it gets so crazy with panic buying. So this time, the only thing I picked up was fresh meat, so if we have to shelter in place we have stuff.
“But this news about restaurants needing to close came up and I thought, ‘We gotta find a way to support restaurants so that when this crisis ends, these businesses will still be around,’ so I said, ‘Kids, we eating out tonight.’”
Chai Chaowasaree, who has weathered many an upswing and downturn since opening his first restaurant, Singha Thai, 32 years ago, simply decided to close Chef Chai temporarily.
“At first I was going to keep the dining room open and offer takeout, but after the governor made that announcement, I decided not to saturate the market, because if everybody’s doing the same thing, nobody’s going to make money. We’re all in the same boat, we all have to make sacrifices. Hopefully, this won’t go on too long.”
The chef said he had been scheduled to open another restaurant, Ford Island Bistro, with a blessing set for last Friday, but that has been delayed. He also doesn’t know if a planned summer debut of Sugarcane, his new restaurant at Ka Makana Ali‘i in Kapolei, will go on as planned.
In the interim, he will be working on Sugarcane’s menu, as well as a new menu for Chef Chai “to wow you later,” he posted on the Chef Chai Facebook page.
Many in the restaurant industry are advocating the purchase of restaurant gift cards that will provide an influx of cash to keep businesses afloat. Hanney started gofundme.com pages to help employees he has had to let go.
“Even though we’re supposed to close (temporarily), I don’t expect it should be a whole lot different after that period,” Hanney said. “We’re going to see some big changes in society and how we do things.”
Chaowasaree said, “For me, if something is in my control, I will do everything I can, but this is not under my control, so what can I do? This is so much worse than 9/11, because this is just the beginning. Even after the disease is under control, the corporations will be behind by so much, it’ll take a year for them to recover and be able to spend money again.”
Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.
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