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TheBuzz
Erika Engle
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Hyatt advances to the beach with quick-service dining
NEVER MIND beachfront. The
Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa now has a footprint on the beach itself -- from whence it has been serving breakfast, lunch and snacks including massively popular shave ice for the last several days.
The Hyatt has a five-year lease to operate the 986-square-foot City & County of Honolulu beach concession, now called Hyatt on the Beach, adjacent to the Honolulu Police Department's Waikiki substation.
Fawaz Gharaibeh, Hyatt executive assistant manager of food and beverage, is overseeing the operation.
"Hyatt on the Beach will be an extension of Hyatt's reputation for excellence in food and beverage, with local favorites at reasonable prices," he said.
The previous concessionaire's lease ended March 31. Hyatt's crew was able to go in at 7 p.m. that evening to strip, clean, paint and prepare their newest f-and-b-baby to serve food the next morning, said Scott Kawasaki, director of public relations and advertising.
"The first few days we had a very limited menu, because we didn't have much turnover time," he said.
Now, however, it is open daily from 7 a.m. to sunset with a full menu at plate-lunch prices that Hyatt guests can charge to their rooms.
Rotating daily plate lunch specials, for $6, include roast pork, kiawe chicken, and broiled, teriyaki hanger steak, among others.
Everyday menu items will include loco moco, pizza, and chicken katsu and burgers start at $5 while a foot-long chili dog goes for $4.50. Of course you can have fries with that, or Spam musubi, if you're so inclined.
Kawasaki and co-workers saw a lot of $3 shave ices fly outta there yesterday.
Breakfast is served from 7 to 10:30 a.m.
Yesterday morning the general manager got thumbs-up from the beach boys, Kawasaki said. "They're so glad. They know we run a clean operation and the food's great ... we're one of the few plate-lunch places."
Park benches provide the only seating for those who don't have a 99-cent beachmat, but that may change. "We're planning, if the city will allow us, to put up some umbrellas and beautify the area a little bit," Kawasaki said
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4747, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at:
eengle@starbulletin.com