A popular takeout restaurant near Ala Moana Center was shut down yesterday after state health inspectors found raw sewage backing up into the kitchen and being tracked into the customer service area. The Hawaii Department of Health issued a red placard to “U-Choice In” at the Don Quijote store after a critical food safety violation was discovered during a routine inspection.
According to the department, employees walked through standing sewage water and tracked it from the kitchen into the front service area while customers were present. The sewage did not stay in the kitchen after it backed up from a floor drain.
Visitors may know Don Quijote as the busy late-night discount supermarket near Ala Moana, where they pick up snacks, souvenirs, local treats, and last-minute groceries during their stay.
What Hawaii inspectors found inside.
The Department of Health identified the violation as a sewage overflow, which clearly qualifies as an imminent health hazard under Hawaii food safety rules. Inspectors required the operator to repair the plumbing issue and clean and sanitize the entire affected floor area before reopening.
The red placard meant immediate closure. The sign remains posted within five feet of the main entrance and can only be removed by the Department of Health after a follow-up inspection confirms that all violations have been corrected. The follow-up inspection for U-Choice In is scheduled for February 27. Until inspectors give the facility the all-clear, the restaurant must remain closed.
How visitors end up here.
U-Choice In is located at 801 Kaheka Street inside the Don Quijote building, a few blocks from Ala Moana Center and within a short walk of Waikiki hotels. For many visitors, Don Quijote is the draw. Travelers head there for snacks, souvenirs, local candy, late-night groceries, and items they forgot to pack. Plus reasonably priced meals.
U-Choice In operates as a takeout restaurant inside that building. Shoppers walk past it while browsing or grab food on the way out. It sits directly in the path of store foot traffic.
Online review platforms show hundreds of posted photos and more than 200 reviews, and it has been mentioned in travel blogs over the years, too.
This is food being prepared and sold at one of Honolulu’s busiest discount retail stores near Ala Moana and Waikiki.
This is not without precedent.
Honolulu has seen similar restaurant sewage violations before. In January 2024, CJ’s New York Style Delicatessen at the Hilton Hawaiian Village received a red placard after inspectors found a sewage backup from a kitchen floor drain during restaurant operations. The plumbing was repaired, and a follow-up inspection cleared the restaurant for a green placard the same day.
If you grabbed food from this counter while shopping at Don Quijote recently, or were planning to pick up something quick there on your way out with groceries and souvenirs, does this change how you think about impulse food stops inside popular and busy retail stores?
Lead Photo Credit: © Beat of Hawaii from the Prince Waikiki Hotel.
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