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Hawaii
RESTAURATEUR Randy Schoch heads the restaurant group in Phoenix that owns Roy's there and in California, Nick's Fishmarket in Maui and Ruth's Chris Steak Houses in Hawaii. A new Ruth's Chris is opening in the Shops at Wailea next month, but Schoch is a busy man. He's also planning a February opening of Food biz a
small worldThaifoon, a cleverly named eatery featuring Thai food, in Scottsdale. And just to show you how closely knit people in the industry are, Schoch's exec chef at Thaifoon, Mark Gerding, was once chef for RoxSand's in Phoenix. RoxSand Soares used to run the Patisserie in Ward Centre before her divorce from Glenn Chu became final. Chu then opened Indigo while she headed for the mainland. And if that's not enough, checking into his Wailea condo is Eddie Petrillo, the San Franciscan who owned the club Eleven and who's a partner in Tin Pan, another Far Eastern eatery with a play on words. His partner there is Bill Masarway, who years ago helped Don Murphy open his kitchen in Murphy's Bar & Grill in downtown Honolulu ...
WHILE we're on the subject of names, Honolulu criminal attorney Birney Baxter Bervar and his wife, the former Malia Johnston, became parents last week and have named their son Baxter Birney Bervar. He weighed in at 8 pounds, 14 ounces, but has no relationship to actress Meredith Baxter Birney, insofar as I know ... TV reporter Jonathan Masaki is departing KGMB and heading for a station in Sacramento ...
World's oldest Freshmen
THESE guys have been red-shirting for half a century. We're speaking of the Four Freshmen, the vocal group that began back in Indiana in the late '40s. Though the singers have continued to graduate to other pursuits, their manager, Bob Flanagan, is one of the original group and makes sure the harmonies and sound stay pure to the original. Abe Weinstein, just back from Australia where he was promoting the eighth annual Hawaii International Jazz Festival, has lined up Flanagan and the current Freshmen to perform a tribute to Stan Kenton at the fest. They were a huge hit here a couple of years ago. In addition to the Freshmen, bands will be coming in from Europe and the Mainland for the 2001 Jazz Odyssey. Incidentally, now singing the tenor part Flanagan made famous is Vince Johnson, a former USC student who appeared at the Hawaii fest and applied to Flanagan for the gig, should it become available. Voila! ...THE folks at the Kahala Mandarin saw the items here about the afternoon teas at 1024 Nuuanu and the Aston Waikiki Beach and agreed that there's nothing quite like sipping tea and nibbling on sandwiches, pastries and scones at the hotel's Veranda. Some gents are beginning to take tea there while holding a business meeting, all the while being soothed by harpist Sharene Boulos ...
Shell service station
THEY'RE having some fun at the Honolulu Club with the annual Thanksgiving canned goods drive to benefit the Honolulu Food Bank. Everyone who brings in a nonperishable food item this week gets entered in a drawing to win a special car wash. The winner gets to drive his car in front of the club facility on Ward Avenue the day after Thanksgiving where G.M. David Shell and membership director Janice Bruggemeier will lead a team of club execs in washing it. Why the 24th? It's the birthday of both Shell and Bruggemeier ...
Dave Donnelly has been writing on happenings
in Hawaii for the Star-Bulletin since 1968.
His columns run Monday through Friday.Contact Dave by e-mail: ddonnelly@starbulletin.com