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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
COURTESY OF SUB-ZERO AND WOLF
The Sub-Zero and Wolf cooking demonstration kitchen was pictured in a new Honolulu showroom. It will be used by chefs for intimate cooking classes.
Sub-Zero and Wolf
showroom heats up
remodeling marketIt's a dream come true for gourmet cooks with budgets to match. The Sub-Zero and Wolf showroom, the construction of which was first announced in this column last July, opened for business Tuesday.
Ground was broken for the two-story, 3,400 square foot building at Piikoi and King streets in late 2002.
It's a no-trumpets soft opening, but dozens of people including architects and contractors have stopped in to ooh and aah at the Sub-Zero and Wolf cooking and refrigeration appliances and the Fisher Paykel dishwashers.
"We have eight kitchen vignettes by Hawaii designers and then artwork throughout the showroom, also by local artists, that will rotate every quarter," said Jean Nakanishi, operations manager.
"We have two live kitchens, one large demonstration kitchen and one of our vignettes is a live kitchen. Eventually we'll have events," she said.
Nakanishi's background is in operations, promotions and marketing in the hotel industry.
As of the July column, the company had secured agreements with local celebrity chefs to stage demonstrations. There are also plans for sommelier seminars to promote wine refrigerators.
Bob Riggs, president of Westye Group/West Inc., the western region distribution arm of Sub-Zero and Wolf, is bringing his mainland staff to attend the private blessing ceremony later this month, and to check out what Nakanishi called the "prototype" for possible future showrooms on the mainland.
The showroom is open to the public Tuesdays through Saturdays (except April 24) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., though appointments are preferred. Hours may be adjusted depending on customer traffic, Nakanishi said.
The National Kitchen and Bath Association finds consumers are spending more on remodeling projects, specifically on kitchens and bathrooms. Sub-Zero and Wolf's local management looks forward to having a more consumer-accessible way of tapping into that market.
"We welcome everyone, especially homeowners planning a kitchen renovation or remodel, as well as architects and designers," said Branch Manager Kent Tobara, in a statement. The showroom is also closer for clients from the Pacific and Asia, who previously had to travel to California to check out the merchandise.
One must be well-heeled to slave over one of these hot stoves or other appliances. Full-sized refrigerators start at $5,000, for instance.
The Sub-Zero and Wolf showroom "will provide added dimension to the existing remodeling market," said John Cheung, board president of the Building Industry Association of Hawaii and president of C C Engineering & Construction Inc. "This will give a lot of consumers a first-hand look at what they can do to upgrade their kitchens."
Sub-Zero and Wolf awarded Maui designer Kristen Totah, of Cutting Edge Corp., with a regional prize in their nationwide design contest last month. From among 932 entries, she was honored for her design of a kitchen in Wailea.
"One of the big features in the kitchen was really around the appliances," she said.
Her client wanted low-maintenance but top-of-the-line appliances, had researched several brands and chose Sub-Zero and Wolf. Totah used a side-by-side model 690 refrigerator and double-ovens with a stainless steel finish as well as a smooth electric cook-top.
Totah won $500, plus an all-expenses-paid trip for two to the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort in Arizona last month.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4302, 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
