The old Side Street Inn is new again

Gone is the dark carpet that not only covered the floor, but crawled up the walls and the sides of the bar. Gone are the beige walls, jalousie windows and old-fashioned drapes.

The renovated Side Street Inn on Hopaka Street is sleek and contemporary, with cool gray walls and an open floor plan.

Plus, the air-conditioning works.

The old system was “nonfunctioning,” General Manager Gay Kanbara said, and the restaurant was warm, to say the least. “Customers would come up to me and say, ‘Ho, sister, this is the only place I can eat and lose weight at the same time.’”

All changes aside, the new-old Side Street retains the spirit of its founder, the late Colin Nishida, the Honolulu barman who opened the storied location in 1992. It became a late-night haunt for local chefs, and its reputation grew as Nishida built up the food menu.

Most of that food remains, as does the 66-foot bar, although it’s been spiffed up with a new top (no more leather bumpers) and wood replacing the carpeted siding.

Side Street closed for renovations in 2019, the year after Nishida’s death. It opened for takeout last summer, and in mid-December the dining room quietly reopened.

Nishida always seemed proud of the original Side Street’s dive-bar ambiance. He made a more upscale statement when he opened Side Street Inn on da Strip in Kapahulu in 2010, Albert Tsuru, bar manager, said. Would he like this makeover?

Well, it’s still froufrou-free, with an unassuming exterior. Still comfortable, still a bar at heart, which Tsuru said is all Nishida really wanted. He’d probably be OK with it all.

“This was his hole in the wall,” Tsuru said. “He always said, ‘This is home.’”

SIDE STREET INN

1225 Hopaka St.; 591-0253; sidestreetinn.com

Open for dining in 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays, 2 to 9 p.m. weekends. Open for takeout at 11 a.m. except Tuesdays (4 p.m.). Closed Mondays.