KALAPAWAI FINDS NEW HOME IN WAIMANALO
Lindsey Dymond, owner of the Kalapawai Cafe & Deli, had his eye on Waimanalo for a while.
Two earlier ventures in Kailua and another in Kapolei are successful, so why not?
In early 2019, he saw a for-lease sign at 41-865 Kalanianaole Highway and looked into it. In November, the sign had changed to for-sale, which was more to Dymond’s liking. He bought the property with plans to open in 2020.
Then came the pandemic. But Dymond and his wife, Jessica, were undaunted. “The world keeps turning, so you keep going,” he said.
Kalapawai Cafe & Deli Waimanalo opened Dec. 11, and business is booming.
That includes a lot of takeout, which — if you know how to do it — can work during COVID-19.
“The first question used to be, ‘How many seats do you have? It’s completely irrelevant now,” Dymond said. “There are only seven tables, but we serve 200 to 300 meals a day at Waimanalo. I may have an empty dining room, but the kitchen is firing.”
The menu includes pizza, lunch plates, poke bowls and baked items, everything fresh.
“You order a fish sandwich, we pull out a piece of fish and we cook it,” Dymond said. “A lot of restaurants overcomplicate. We do the opposite and do the simple things really well.”
When asked to name a star attraction, Dymond cites “a trinity of sandwiches:” hot pastrami, French dip and Kailua club.
Jessica’s brown-butter salted chocolate chip cookies — from a recipe she came up with recently — are moving toward center stage, though. “They’ve taken on a life of their own, and it’s become a full-time job for her to keep those in stock,” Dymond said.
Full sit-down service is not available at this Kalapawai. Dymond said counter-style is more efficient, especially now.
Kalapawai has upgraded its online ordering system, but you can still do takeout the old-fashioned way: voice-to-voice, over the phone — or in person.
One website, kalapawaimarket.com, serves all locations, Dymond said.
The Waimanalo location is open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Call 784-0303.
— Dave Reardon, Star-Advertiser
RAINBOW DRIVE-IN OPENS IN WAIPAHU
The old Highway Inn location in Waipahu has become the newest Rainbow Drive-In, the fifth location of the plate-lunch pioneer.
The original Rainbow Drive-In opened nearly 60 years ago in Kapahulu and remains family-owned. In 2018 franchises began opening under Rainbros Hawaii Restaurants, starting in Kalihi and continuing in Ewa Beach and Pearlridge Center.
In Waipahu, Rainbow has taken over from another local institution: After 35 years, Highway Inn moved from the 94-226 Leoku St. site, reopening a few miles east at the end of 2019.
The new location is open 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily, serving takeout only for now. Yellow caution tape surrounds tables and chairs. The menu mirrors the original Kapahulu site, including favorite mahimahi, barbecue beef and boneless chicken plates.
Call 744-1288.
—Betty Shimabukuro, Star-Advertiser
Quickbites is a weekly listing of dining events. Email items to crave@staradvertiser.com.
