TheBuzz Erika Engle

Eatery opens anew under old sign

"We're bringing Yen King's menu here," said co-owner Janet Lam.

She and her husband Richard owned Yen King Restaurant, which operated at Kahala Mall for more than 20 years. It was forced to close in October to make way for changes precipitated by Whole Foods' arrival at the mall.

Maple Garden closed in March, following the October death of restaurant founder Robert Hsu.

Maple Garden Inc. was incorporated by Hsu in 1975, going on to win awards and accolades as a neighborhood Chinese restaurant.

Updated to reflect its recent closure, a write-up at www.gayot.com praised the old Maple Garden as a "terrific, no-frills Szechuan restaurant (where) practically everything on the menu is worth ordering." However, it described the wait staff as "gruff at best."

The Lams have rehired all 10 former Yen King employees to staff the new Maple Garden, said Janet Lam. They have a five-year lease with options and will be open from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. seven days a week, starting tomorrow.

Sign ordinances caused the Lams to decide not to bring the Yen King name to 909 Isenberg St.

Were they to take down the big, neon Maple Garden sign, they could not replace it with a new sign. "It was too humbug ... because of the laws," she said. It was easier to simply keep the Maple Garden name, so the Lams have registered the trade name under the parent H & T Corp.

The Lams have not publicized the reopening, hoping to "open quietly and just go," she said.

Oops.

Future Fortune 500

As many as 250 Hawaii students will get a rare chance to "do lunch" with local business leaders at Dole Ballrooms next Friday.

The Hawaii's Future Fortune 500 Luncheon is being staged by the Hawaii Association for Career and Technical Education and the state of Hawaii Career and Technical Education Center. The idea is to pair people from a range of industries with public and private middle school, high school and college students, so they can talk about the rewards and challenges of their occupations, said HACTE President Dirk Soma.

The program will include remarks by Johnson Choi, president of the Hong Kong-China- Hawaii Chamber of Commerce and Hawaii's national winner of the SBA Minority Small Business Champion of the Year award.

At $100 a pop, businessfolk who sign up will cover the cost of the function for themselves and a student.

HACTE Executive Director Guy Shibayama is taking reservations at 845-9247.