Four more popular Honolulu restaurants closed suddenly amid upheaval in the Hawaii restaurant industry. This is unprecedented.
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70 thoughts on “Hawaii Restaurants Are Struggling; 4 More Shutter Entirely”
Four more popular Honolulu restaurants closed suddenly amid upheaval in the Hawaii restaurant industry. This is unprecedented.
All You have to do is look at a local government that that smells of collusion & corruption i.e. removing short term rentals and making them mandatory 90 days. What vacation is 90 days long? It gives the hotels free reign to raise their prices and forces its bread and butter tourists to pay up and also removes the short term rental space. Robbing locals of a viable source of income of millions of dollars annually. With more dollars paying for lodging and removing a source of income there is less dollars to spend elsewhere. Combine it with an inefficient government & reduced workforce is there any wonder why there are closures and less tipping? Not to mention local governments attempt to charge a 40% tax on LV packages? Lolo!
You make some good poinst but isnt removing local rentals from the tourist accommodation meant to free up space for locals to have places to rent? If it’s only full of tourists, sure rental owners make more $ but the problem is further exacerbated with less workers able to full the service/restaurant jobs. No place to live = cant work.
Brad it’s doubtful that the amount of vacation rental units will make much of a difference in the problem, sorry to say. If the housing is up for sale how many could afford to purchase? As always there’s more to consider than what people actually are. If people can afford housing why aren’t they Building their own with LTR unit attached to it? Sounds like people can’t afford to live there and are causing problems for those who can. Shameful and Typical.
Just returned home from a sixteen day trip to Maui. We went out to eat a total of six times, and three of those times we split a meal. It’s now a luxury to go out to eat. Also I will not spend 30.00 dollars to park so I can eat in Paia or Lahaina, and that’s to bad because I do enjoy Kimo’s in Lahaina. I don’t think Hawaii is going to get less tourist but they will probably get less tourist dollars as we pick and choose how to spend our money.
I agree. I love Hawaii, and I miss living there because of the wonderful people and beautiful climate, but my hubby got a $65k per year raise when we moved away–to a Much cheaper economy. I also make way more than I would make in Hawaii, and I get nearly two months a year in paid vacation! Now, we can afford to travel frequently, but Hawaii is not at the top of our list anymore. There are so many international locations that are now competing for the tourist dollars that Hawaii used to get because Americans wanted to stay in the U.S. International travel is so easy and affordable now that we travel widely.
I loved the beaches of Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands are not to be missed! Food is cheap, weather is great year round and affordable taxi rides so no car necessary!
Have not been there and my Spanish is limited. However, my ex-husband tried to convince me that there are other places like Hawaii …we went to Bermuda, Bahamas, Cancun, Acapulco, Puerto Rico. Florida, Costa Rica ….all these places were ok for a visit and I wouldn’t mind visiting Costa Rica again. However, it’s not Hawaii, so let’s make sure we preserve these islands and people. I didn’t just move here for the beach and climate (both of which I love), but also for the people and Hawaiian culture, so I hope they don’t get lost ….
The solution is so very easy….food trucks, no high rent and lower tips because it is take out ! and if you want too go to a high-end restaurant pay the price….simple.
I don’t know the answer. But I do remember reading about McDonalds in Denmark and feel that that it relates somehow. Denmark has no minimum wage, so McDonalds entered the country with short shifts, low wages, and a typical US work environment. Strikes soon began, escalating over years, until McDonalds raised to living wages, gave fixed shifts, and gave 6 weeks vacation. Real Jobs. The effect? One percent fewer McDonalds in the country and 18% less profit to the wealthy owners. So, ironically, the solution was slightly fewer restaurants and slightly fewer jobs to get an overall higher standard quality of life for everyone.
Wealthy owners? McDonalds is a publicly traded company. Many small investors and retirees own their stock and others indirectly through pension plans. Food in general in Europe is quite expensive and McDonalds often provides a cheaper, fast and reliable alternative. Also, if one is running a business each location has to be profitable or it should be closed.
Well, I’d hate to suggest that any publicly traded company is justified in paying low wages because they are public, so I think it makes more sense to look at the actual numbers. The New York Times did extensive reporting and found that the profits in Denmark were still quite high for McDonalds, while the quality of life for their workers was made quite high. So, unless the numbers reported by McDonalds were fiction, this is simply a matter of being slightly less greedy at corporate – not forcing senior citizen to beg for food. Somehow, McDonald’s has managed to thrive in Scandinavia – with many reports of prices roughly equivalent to those in the USA.
McDonald’s is a corporation, but it uses a franchise model, wherein individuals own the stores. So, Yes, wealthy owners.
And good for Denmark for looking out for its employees. Better yet, good for the employees for saying “no” to the garbage way companies operate in the U.S.
Just wondering how much higher rent and other fixed expenses like utilities have gone up since COVID? I would like to point out that people vacationing are complaining about workers who probably are working 2 jobs to make ends meet or struggling to make an honest living. The cost of tourists enjoying lower costs was on the backs of workers in service industries. In other words the cheaper your hotel was depended on how little maids were paid or now you pay more and get fewer services. All this is a win for the corporate earnings and dividends, especially hotels. I have no answers but we are living in more or less post COVID times and the changes are for sure going to continue!
That’s just wrongheaded thinking. Corporations take their profits at the expense of the employees. They choose to pay low wages to maximize Their profit margins. Those hotels are hurting their workers. Period.
Unemployment expired, now on the welfare system. Great gig, collect welfare and sit on the beach in Hawaii. Not saying all people are doing that. But there is no incentive to get a job. Maybe the governor will add another $50.00 tourist charge to help support the restaurant workers. And how is the light rail project coming along? More finger pointing with little or no action.
Mark, despite common sense several have continued the practice of Supplemental Unemployment benefits in conjunction with rent assistance, food, utilities, etc. All of this combined has actually allowed many to live a higher lifestyle than if they were working, even if it were about the same why work! As you point out living in Hawaii on welfare can allow plenty of beach time. Excellent observation!
… And wait till the homeless sit in a rail car all day and half the night. Trash everywhere. What a boongoggle the rail has always been …
We agree and tip 25% or higher. $20.00 doesn’t go very far in Hawaii but if you want to continue to travel there you have to support and help the locals. Just came back from Maui and the hotel staff was not as happy as in past. Restaurants seemed fully staffed and servers were friendly at most places. If you can afford the trip help the locals.
BOH, another wonderful and informative article…Thanks! What do I “think?” Dangerous Question 😳 What I consider to be the Number One cause of businesses failing and others struggling is the employment market. With “low unemployment” it would be expected that the workforce would be filling vacancies, they’re not. The reason is the Millions of Able Bodied Young Workforce that refuses to work. Did the Government forget to mention them? Absolutely! Why not cut-off the money they receive from their States and force them to reenter the workforce? Wouldn’t that be prudent?
Don’t believe that.
The 2 words “government” and “prudent” are oxymoron when put together in the same sentence.
Absolutely, without any doubt.
Your suggestion of raising tips to 25 % should consider some people don’t tip
at all! I suggest an automatic 18 % on bill. More at your discretion. As we do when really pleased!
Remember your article about nickel and diming….20 to 25 % kinda smacks of that.
Your cheap fares are not attracting the big spenders…part of the problem.
I make an analogy to underpaid service workers to what Hawaii has done for decades before…underpaid teachers!
I agree. I know some restaurants pay their wait staff minimal wages because they assume they make most of their money in tips. An 18% automatic tip a good idea. I also agree that welfare and unemployment benefits have exacerbated the problem. We just returned from Kauai, where we saw more help wanted signs everywhere and yet we also saw more homeless camps than ever before. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 comes to mind… “If any would not work, neither should he eat”.
I think an automatic tip is a terrible idea. We live here in Hawaii. Reality is, people just don’t want to work. And the ones that do, the quality is terrible. It’s not just in the service industry. But in restaurants, the food quality is mediocre and the service is atrocious. There’s no reason why I should spend my hard earned cash to tip a server that obviously doesn’t wanna be doing their job. I say let the restaurants close, it’s not the publics job to pay the wages of employees when the employers are making a ton of money and cater only to shareholders. The employer should be paying a fair wage and they don’t. Now the chickens are coming home to roost.
Like the auto built in tip like other countries. Keep n mind waiters in many restaurants share tips with cooks, busing people and bartenders.
Still doesn’t account for the many young people who just dont want to work. I’m 77. I’d have collected garbage before living with my parents as a 20 something. I wanted my independence. Every and any job can be fulfilling. Its simply a mindset. Stop with the whing, put the phone down, find reality, think and visualize the positive.
That’s not a tip. That’s a fee. Why not just raise the prices, get rid of tipping all together, and pay a fair wage? I am not going to pay a tip on demand.
Let em close. As long as the powers in Office are giving out handouts, there is no incentive to work. And, the price gouging doesn’t help. the same room on Waikiki is now Over Double from a few years ago. People are finding alternative ways to spend their travel & recreational dollars.