Good news, bad news, old news…from East Oahu:
Good news: Zippy’s Kahala will be renovating its restaurant. Last day for dining: Wednesday Feb. 25. The restaurant will shut down for a facelift, though the update in the main dining room doesn’t appear to be tattered. The take-out counter and the on-site Japanese restaurant will be closed, too, beginning Thursday, Feb. 26. On-site wait-help will have to pitch in and tidy up the eatery…then seek shifts at other Zippy’s locations till the reopening.
Bad news: Zippy’s Kahala will be closed until June 2026. Precise reopening date will be announced later. That means if you’ve been accustomed to chowing and chatting at Zippy’s, you may have to settle for Zippy’s Hawaii Kai take-out at Koko Marina, since the dining room has been shuttered for quite a while now. The nearest Zippy’s (without the usual dining room) is the Kaimuki restaurant, not the same as a customary dining room. You’d have to go west to either the Maikiki Zippy’s near Washington Middle School, or the earlier renovated popular site where Wisteria used to be.
Jack be nimble: Maybe Jack’s in Aina Haina will lure the breakfast trade, since its menu has ample options and the grilled biscuits, with honey butter, always hits the spot.
Worth exploring: Beastside Kitchen, in the Niu Valley Shopping Center, has imaginative breakfast options, and with options lean in the area, this restaurant might be the one to come to the rest. Tried the breakfast earlier but the offerings now are more like inventive and bountiful lunch for the morning crowd, with daily feasts from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring creative island-style dishes, ranging from loco mocos to eggs benedict, kal bi with eggs, with options with imaginative names as Da Elvis French Toast and Chee Hoo Breakfast Sandwich. Bring a big appetite and hey, your breakfast feast turn out to be lunch, too.
Unconfirmed rumor: That open space where Fat Boy’s used to be, at Koko Marina, might become a future Popeye’s chicken restaurant.
Recent arrival: Domino’s Pizza, at the Hawaii Kai Towne Center, on the site of the former Jersey Mike’s.
Fritters: Fans of Safeway’s apple fritters are discovering that the version in the mix of doughnuts and bagels is simply OK; the current fritter is rounder than the one we all remember, and the “complexion” is lighter than the darker original which also had its own distinctive shape.