Today it was reported that three new restaurants will go under construction and open for business in the next six months in the Honolulu area. The restaurants are as follows: Paparazzi, Ka Restaurant – Pacific Rim Cuisine, and Pablo McGinty’s, a Mexican/Irish restaurant and bar. All three restaurant locations have been closed by other operators within the past year. Located at General Growth Properties Ward Centre, the restaurants are all large space, second floor locations. It’s great to see activity where there were recently dark, papered up windows.
Our California offices also reported an uptick in restaurant operators coming to town, looking for new locations, and willing to invest new capital. This willingness to spend new capital, hopefully, will be an early sign of an uptick in activity in the commercial real estate markets in both locations.