Microbrewery
on tap for Kakaako

Star-Bulletin staff

A restaurant and microbrewery is scheduled to open later this year at Ward Centre, creating 75 new jobs, according to the restaurant operator.

Brew Moon Hawaii is set to open this fall in a 9,000-square-foot, second-floor space at the ewa end of Ward Centre. The site was formerly occupied by Monterey Bay Canners.

About $3 million, including $1 million from Taiwan investors, has been raised for the restaurant project, according to Laurie Foster, senior executive of Brew Moon Enterprises, the parent company.

This will be Brew Moon's sixth restaurant. It has four in Boston and one opening in Philadelphia in June.

Brew Moon, which features a diverse menu of ethnic and other foods, was named one of the top new restaurants in the country in 1996 by Bon Appetit magazine, according to the company.

An executive chef and brewmaster will be brought here from the parent company, but 75 employees, including a general manager, are expected to be hired locally, Brew Moon said.

Responsibilities for Foster, a Punahou graduate with a master's in business administration from Stanford University, include helping the company expand to Asia.