Keeaumoku runs from the top of Makiki to Ala Moana Center and is home to Wal-Mart and a wide array of eateries and small businesses.

But the street may be most well-known locally for its concentration of establishments that are “;exotic,”; though not in the way that political reporter and analyst Cokie Roberts meant when she dissed Hawaii recently.

Sorabol Korean Restaurant

805 Keeaumoku St.
» Phone: 947-3113
» sorabolhawaii.com

Korean drama fans, take note. Lee Byung-hyun ate there. Bae Yong-jun, too. But come next year, if you want to eat at Sorabol Korean Restaurant, you'll have to head to Kalakaua Avenue.

A South Korean investment group plans to develop the Keeaumoku parcel bordered by Liona and Rycroft streets, so the popular restaurant on the corner of Keeaumoku and Rycroft streets will relocate near the Century Center building next fall.

Though popular with local Korean residents, the customer base is “;60 to 70 percent local,”; said Jay Cho, restaurant manager.

Kalbi, kim chee and tofu stews are popular menu items. The steamed butterfish is another favorite.

Over the course of the day, the clientele for the restaurant—open 24 hours a day—changes from working professionals to families at dinnertime and nightlife denizens late at night, Cho said. And yes, the occasional K-drama star drops in, too.

You may have seen other Sorabol restaurants on the mainland or in Korea. It's a popular name because Sorabol was the capital city of the Korean kingdom of Silla, which unified much of the Korean peninsula in the seventh century.

Makiki Community Library

1527 Keeaumoku St.
» Friends of Makiki Library, 946-3291

The Makiki Community Library is “;a little gem, the perfect place for families and children to come after school,”; said Norma Koenig, president of the Friends of the Makiki Library board.

But the private, nonprofit operation, located at Makiki District Park, is struggling on a shoestring budget and needs to hire a library manager and find more volunteers before it can reopen.

Originally the Hawaii Sugar Planters Association library, the Makiki library was started by area residents in 1976 but has been closed while undergoing extensive renovations.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann handed the keys to the building to the Friends group in March, but the facility still needed major work before it was ready for regular public use.

Since it is not part of the state library system, the library has had to depend mostly on donations and volunteer efforts.

Still, “;when you see young families and children explore the books, it's really rewarding,”; Koenig said.

Once open, the facility will function more like a “;community center,”; offering a reading room, story hours and book clubs.

“;(The library) really is for the people, by the people,”; Koenig said.

Like Like Drive Inn

745 Keeaumoku St.
» Phone: 941-2515

That iconic neon sign still beckons, as does the loco moco.

James and Alice Nako opened Like Like Drive Inn in May 1953 and the restaurant remains a family affair.

Besides the few hours each month that the popular eatery closes for routine maintenance and cleaning, the restaurant's staff takes holidays only on New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and Jan. 2.

“;That's the only time we all get together as a family because everyone's off,”; said Karen Akiyoshi, granddaughter of the restaurant's founders and secretary of the Like Like management group.

The restaurant was rebuilt in 1994, anchoring a retail plaza that also houses a number of small businesses.

It's still open 24 hours a day, serving up local comfort food favorites.

And you can still see Japanese tourists posing for pictures at the corner of Keeaumoku and Kanunu streets, using the Like Like sign as a backdrop.

The customer flow includes early-morning joggers and walkers eating breakfast and coffee in their workout gear, the business lunch crowd and, much later, the hipper-than-thou winding down after a night on the town.