Square Kady Pascual Headshot RGZ5762

Kady Pascual

Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

I don’t think he’ll ever be late again.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

StanBiz4Yu

<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Running late</title>

Today’s social media find comes from @Stan_Biz4Yu, who needs to work on time management.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Running late

I don’t think he’ll ever be late again.  Make sure you follow @Stan_Biz4Yu on Instagram! For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter!

De Soto 2025

DeSoto Brown

Hawai‘i History

Columnists

The heavily-trafficked intersection of Kapi‘olani Boulevard and Kalākaua Avenue has hosted a parade of high-profile restaurants since the 1930s, each one representing a particular genre that was popular in the USA at the time.

To begin with, there was no intersection at all here until April 1931, when Kapi‘olani Boulevard — under construction since 1929 — reached Kalākaua Avenue, already a major, established Honolulu street for many years. To save City & County funds, Kapi‘olani initially wasn’t even paved in this stretch until November of the same year, when asphalt was laid atop the crushed coral then in place. Drivers appreciated this new route across town, which was less congested than Beretania or King Streets, and within a few years the triangular lot on the Waikīkī side of the intersection caught attention as the potential site for a “Gateway to Waikīkī” public park. That proposal went nowhere, but soon the property would see its first business.

In 1935, entrepreneur Hanley P. Sundstrom (better known as “Sunny”) opened his Kau Kau Korner Drive In with just two employees. The small open building accommodated some diners seated around its periphery, under a striped canvas awning, but carhops also serviced customers in parked cars.

Business in this highly visible location grew enough for an entirely new $45,000 structure, occupying more leased land, to open in August 1941. Modeled after the well-known drive in restaurants of Los Angeles, this new Kau Kau Korner featured a curved glass-brick façade with a map of the Hawaiian Islands executed in sheet metal and neon lettering. On the second floor, behind the glass bricks, was Sunny’s executive office — and, for a select invited group, illegal slot machines used for gambling! There were now 40 employees, including 11 carhops dressed in snappy red & white uniforms to serve the 100-vehicle parking lot.

Immediately famous on the property was a freestanding neon sign emphasizing that Hawai‘i was the “Crossroads Of The Pacific”, the slogan lettered on the top. On the sign’s pole were wooden arrows pointing to various other locations, both domestic and international, showing how many miles away each one was. This landmark sign was a favorite subject of amateur snapshots for years.

Continuing through the 1950s, the high point of the popularity of drive in restaurants in the United States, Kau Kau Korner’s run came to an end when it lost its lease and closed in February 1960. The new occupant of this location was the successful locally owned Spencecliff Corporation, which already operated a number of very popular establishments on O‘ahu. A crash remodel and enlargement of the existing building disguised it completely and enabled its very quick reopening in September 1960 as Coco’s Coffee Shop, an example of the next big trend for inexpensive dining in America. Open 24 hours a day for a capacity of 190 diners, Coco’s served everyone from families during the daytime to weary nightlife patrons seeking predawn breakfasts. Local celebrities were among its regular patrons, especially those with late-night entertainment jobs or conversely, the ones who started their work days very early.

In turn, Coco’s reached its end on the last day of August in 1986. It was demolished the following month to be replaced by the new Hard Rock Café, which opened in July 1987 with much fanfare. This new business turned its back on the busy intersection that the previous restaurants had openly faced, and disguised this view with trees and foliage. Inside, musical artifacts from its already-famous collection of guitars and other rock memorabilia were prominently displayed along with Hawai‘i-specific historic graphics.

Most notable was the customized 1959 Cadillac suspended from the ceiling above the bar. Owner Peter Morton claimed in an interview that this vehicle had belonged to an “eccentric rancher” on Hawai‘i Island who had used it to carry his surfboards, when in fact it was a stock Cadillac ambulance that had had wooden paneling added to its exterior to serve as a prop specifically for this restaurant. The Hard Rock Café chain was the most prominent of an abundance of theme restaurants that proliferated in the 1980s and ‘90s, and it was notably popular in Honolulu, particularly for tourists seeking merchandise like its T-shirts. For years there was a line at the door waiting for entry.

The Hard Rock Café gradually lost its novelty and chose to move to a Waikīkī site on Beachwalk in November 2010, closer to the tourists who constituted its main clientele. After this, its former building hosted various short-lived tenants until the Honolulu Coffee Company opened there in September 2015, yet again an example of a current trend in American eating and drinking establishments. Their “Aloha” painted mural from 2018, facing Kalākaua Avenue, remains in place although they have moved to King Street in Mō‘ili‘ili.

And this then brings us to 2026 and this location’s newest tenant: Chick-fil-A’s sitdown-only restaurant. There’s a precedent here, which no one today will know about, in that Kau Kau Korner was Hawai‘i’s first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise location, starting in March 1958 before KFC had opened any of its own stand-alone buildings locally. But any chain fast-food restaurant, a type invented in the USA but now international in scope, is historically in keeping with the succession of what’s gone before at Honolulu’s Restaurant Corner.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

1 Kau Kau 48 16x9

<title>Honolulu's restaurant corner</title>

With its high traffic and visibility, the corner of Kapi‘olani Boulevard and Kalākaua Avenue has attracted a series of legendary eateries over the decades. ASD history columnist DeSoto Brown revisits them all — Kau Kau Korner, Coco's, Hard Rock Café (much of the latter's building now serving as the home of Chi-fil-A's only sit-down restaurant).

Honolulu's restaurant corner

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Real Estate

A new affordable housing project in Central O‘ahu is now welcoming residents — and still accepting applications.

A blessing ceremony and dedication was held this week for Koa Vista II, 

the second phase of a new two-phase affordable rental development located within Koa Ridge, Castle & Cooke Hawai‘i's 576-acre 

 situated between Mililani and Waipio in Central O‘ahu.

developed by the nonprofit Homes Hawai‘i Inc. in partnership with GSF LLC, 

offers a total of 192 affordable senior and family rental apartments in two mid-rise buildings. You'll find Koa Vista at 94-1230 Hulukupuna St.

The seven-story, $39 million Koa Vista II has 97 rentals for families earning up to 80% of the area median income, an announcement this week noted. 

Income limits vary by household size, but you can find the current incomes limits for the City and County of Honolulu 

 was held for the first phase, Koa Vista I, in March 2025, and the groundbreaking for Koa Vista II was held at the same time. 

Construction on the second phase began in the summer of 2023 and was finished in June, the announcement said.

A representative told Aloha State Daily in an email that the first tenants began moving into Koa Vista II in June. It's currently about a third occupied, they noted, so applications are still being accepted.

According to the announcement, rents start at $1,600 a month and each unit includes a refrigerator, range/oven, cable and high-speed internet access, window coverings and VCT flooring. Common area amenities include 110 parking stalls for residents and guests, a community multi-purpose room, laundry rooms and open space with picnic area.

Property manager Hawaii Affordable Properties, Inc. is handling the application process for Koa Vista II. Applications are available online at 

 and can also be picked up at the Koa Vista I property at 94-1230 Hulukupuna St. in Waipahu.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Koa vista 2 blessing 072826

<title>Second phase of Central O‘ahu affordable rentals are now open</title>

A blessing ceremony was held this week for Koa Vista II, the second phase of a new two-phase development located within Koa Ridge.

Second phase of Central O‘ahu affordable rentals are now open

Kam Napier Headshot

A. Kam Napier

Government & Politics

You wouldn’t know it from local media, or even from much of the mainstream Mainland news, but Dr. Anthony Fauci is back in the spotlight, six years after his Icarus flight into the sun of international media attention during Covid-19.

 at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser about Anthony Fauci is from April 3, 2020. It’s an Associated Press wire story, “

Dr. Fauci’s face will soon be on a bobblehead

How appropriate. It would hilariously ironic, if it weren’t for the needless panic and suffering that man caused as he reveled in his Covid-era fame.

In April, Hawaiʻi News Now did carry an AP story earlier this year, “

Former Fauci adviser indicted for allegedly concealing communications related to COVID-19 research

.” It was a small glimpse into an overdue reckoning.

The last article on Fauci at Hawai‘i Public Radio was from Jan. 23, 2021, “

The gist of that piece is that Fauci was thrilled to be working for former President Joe Biden — as well he should be, since Biden, or his autopen, would go on to 

The text of the pardon itself reads: “For any offenses against the United States which he may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014, through the date of this pardon arising from or in any manner related to his service as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force or the White House Covid-19 Response Team, or as Chief Medical Advisor to the President.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Why would he need such a thing?"}]

We might soon find out. On Wednesday, July 29, Sen. Rand Paul will be grilling Fauci in front of Congress. In advance of that hearing, Paul has been publishing online thousands of pages of Fauci’s own diaries and notes, all kept in his government files. Read them all 

This is what local and national media, once so eager to lionize Fauci, now seem to be working so hard to ignore.

I looked at the Star-Advertiser, as well as Honolulu Civil Beat, and 

, to see if anyone locally was covering, or even picking up from Mainland sources, the news coming out about Fauci’s diaries.

[{"type":"text","text":"Nothing, at least as of Tuesday."}]

Maybe you loved the man. Maybe you bought the Fauci candle and hung on his every word. Prepare to be disappointed.

Maybe you loathed the man on sight, with his suspicious eagerness to be the ringleader of a calamity circus.

[{"type":"text","text":"You were right. Fauci’s own words prove it."}]

For a summation of the diary, it’s hard top the highlights published this week at 

, which doubted the Covid lockdown madness from the get-go — and was demonetized and censored for not going along with the groupthink.

In March 2020, went on TV, gave the day’s death toll of 9,800. Then he wrote in his diary, “It is not hyperbole to say that today I am the most famous and talked about person in the country and one of the most recognizable persons in the world.”

I could go on and on with examples from the diary of Fauci loving his fame, because Fauci himself sure did. But I’ll just let that one ghoulish example stand for them all.

Publicly, Fauci claimed he never advised lockdowns. His diaries tell us he bragged to himself about convincing New York and California leaders to close schools and businesses. In the climate of fear of the time, policymakers marched like lemmings off the lockdown cliff to do likewise.

[{"type":"text","text":"As for that fear, it was needlessly stoke by Fauci himself."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"And he was lying."}]

He told us, via the media, the Covid fatality rate was 2 to 2.5% — that’s 10 times higher than the typical death rate of the average flu season. One might panic over such a thing. Except, the real rate, as he noted privately, was “

.” That’s double the fatality rate of the flu, but it isn’t 10 times the rate, and we might have asked better questions about a more targeted approach to Covid if he had been honest.

When other experts criticized the lockdown strategy as doing more than harm good, Fauci worked with the government and social media companies to silence them. In crisis, we need more communication and more questions, not fewer. Fauci would not be questioned at all.

Publicly, Fauci touted mask-wearing as the key to safety and a “return to normalcy.” Privately he knew there was no evidence to support that.

While we were being told we couldn’t so much as take a walk alone in a park, Fauci was having dinner with CNN’s Jake Tapper, at Tapper's house.

Remember when it was forbidden, even considered racist, to suggest that Covid-19 was the result of Chinese lab leak? The only acceptable belief was accidental transmission from animals to humans in a Wuhan wet market.

Well, the overwhelming consensus of a team of international experts was that there was no way this virus was entirely natural, parts of had to be inserted. Fauci knew this because he assembled the experts and summarized their consensus in his diary — in January, 2020. Yes, that early.

What Sen. Paul has been chasing, and will likely grill Fauci about in these hearings, is what role Fauci himself and the U.S. government played in funding gain-of-function research on viruses overseas after such work had been banned at home. As the Senator notes, no pardon from Biden protects Fauci from the consequences of lying now.

We’ll see what he has to say for himself, but I expect a lot of memory lapses. “During a seven-hour deposition in December 2022, Fauci failed to recall pertinent information about his role in the federal government’s Covid weaponization 

And it also notes: “While regular Americans struggled to make ends meet and keep their small businesses afloat amid lockdowns, the bureaucrat made 

I think the man ought to be in prison. I fear the worst he’ll experience is a few more hours of pretending he can’t recall how he earned so many of our tax dollars.

In his monstrous and ego-driven campaign to milk Covid for all it was worth, Fauci had plenty of accomplices. Mini-Faucis ruled from coast to coast, basking in the glow of the local TV studio lights, not least of all here in the Islands, pushing maximum panic and maximum lockdowns. Gov. Josh Green likely owes his current job to being Hawai‘i’s Mini-Fauci.

My own industry played a huge role in amplifying both fear and the overreaction, so I’m not surprised they aren’t rushing to confront the ugly truth behind the St. Fauci narrative.

It was ugly, and we’ll be dealing with the fallout for years to come. Maybe you had a loved one die pathetically alone in a hospital as a result of insane visitation policies. Maybe your kid still struggles from lost schooling. Maybe your business never quite recovered, or you’re running a new one now because lockdowns killed your old one. 

We’re all certainly paying for the billions in fraudulent Covid-relief payments made as the Feds shoveled money at Americans to buy their patience with the lockdowns. We’re certainly all paying the price in inflation as the Biden administration borrowed trillions for that relief, inflation that peaked at 19% during his term, permanently resetting prices.

I’m stumped at how to quantify the psychic pain that came from learning just how many of our friends, family members, neighbors and colleagues turned out to be East German at heart — eager secret policemen, dropping a dime on curfew violators, wishing death upon the unmasked or the unvaccinated. There’s a thing you can’t unsee once you’ve seen it, and one can't help but wonder, did that part of them ever really go away or are they just waiting for the next excuse to go after people they don't like?

No one, anywhere, who brought all this about has ever been held to account.

[{"type":"text","text":"Fauci would be a good start. "}]

 Wow, that was fast. The hearing has already ended — with 

 repeatedly and refusing to answer questions, despite his presidential pardon. Paul has stated that this is illegal and there will be repercussions. We'll see.

A. Kam Napier is editor in chief of Aloha State Daily. His opinions in Pipikaula Corner are his own and not reflective of the ASD team.

Getty Images 2155919948

<title>Pipikaula Corner: Fauci revealed as fear-mongering, fame-loving fraud</title>

It's not getting much media attention, but the private diaries of Dr. Anthony Fauci have been published online by Sen. Rand Paul in advance of his hearings this week into Fauci and Covid-19. What they reveal across thousands of pages is man in love with the adulation he received, who privately knew that many of things he said publicly about the pandemic were wild exaggerations.

Pipikaula Corner: Fauci revealed as fear-mongering, fame-loving fraud

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

 recently soft opened in Honolulu. The biz doesn’t have an official sign yet, but it’s located on one end of the 

The business is known for its flavorful gourmet burgers made with wagyu patties. Created in collaboration with 

, winner of London’s Slider Decider competition in 2015 and 2016, Dragon Burger is known for its flavorful gourmet burgers made with wagyu beef patties and innovative sauces.

Dragon Burger initially did a pop-up in Fukuoka, Japan in August 2017. After positive customer feedback, the brand opened in Tofukuji, Kyoto the following month. 

The yuzu kosho burger is the business’s signature burger. It includes yuzu mayo, a sweet chili sauce, spring onions, cheddar cheese and pickled radish. Yuzu kosho, a popular Japanese condiment made with fresh yuzu citrus zest, contributes to the burger's savory flavor. 

The shiso flame features spicy mayo, spring onions, cheddar cheese, shiso leaf and onion chili paste.

We’re told that the business will add more burgers — like the wasabi (crispy onions, wasabi mayo, onions, cheddar cheese, wakame seaweed and Karashi mustard) and classic (sweet mustard, onions, onion miso, cheddar cheese and Karashi mustard) — to the menu in the upcoming days.

Customers can opt for the business’s Kyo chips ($6), or fries, plain or with sauces like yuzu mayo, spicy mayo and wasabi mayo (additional $1). The wasabi mayo comes highly recommended.

Dragon Burger is currently open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 5 to 8 p.m. daily. Both this biz and the business next to it, Bonbori — a ramen spot from Hokkaido — will be celebrating their grand opening on July 25.

Open daily, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 5 to 8 p.m.

Dragon Burger yuzu kosho burger 072026

<title>Kyoto’s Dragon Burger is now open in Honolulu</title>

The Japan-based burger spot — known for its gourmet wagyu patties and innovative sauces — just soft opened at Midtown Eats food hall at The Park on Keʻeaumoku. The menu is limited for now; the business will celebrate its grand opening on July 25.

Kyoto’s Dragon Burger is now open in Honolulu

[{"type":"text","text":"When was the last time you held a CD or VHS tape?"}]

, a limited-time ’90s-themed pop-up bar now open in Central Oʻahu.

Cosmic Records just opened in the former space of Chili’s Grill & Bar at Pearlridge Center. The pop-up is open from 6 p.m. to midnight Fridays to Sundays until Aug. 31. No reservations are accepted — walk-ins only — and individuals must be 21 years or older to enter.

Cosmic Records is the latest creation by 17A Productions, the company behind other pop-ups like Halloween-themed Nightmare Honolulu (at Ala Moana Center), ’80s-themed Alpha Video Honolulu (in downtown Honolulu) and The Christmas Lodge, which debuted in the same Pearlridge Center space last holiday season.

For someone growing up in the ’90s, the whole pop-up is a trip down memory lane. For starters, the interior is inspired by Tower Records, which had a location in Pearl Kai Shopping Center across the street.

As soon as you enter the pop-up, you’ll see a wall of hanging headphones — you can wear them for a fun photo opp — and a VHS display with popular movies of the era like “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie,” “Pokemon: The First Movie,” and “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.”

Speaking of movies — you can also easily spot the pop-up from the outside by the movie posters hanging in the window. You’ll see everything from “The Goonies” to “Labyrinth.” Inside the pop-up, if you look closely, you’ll also see VHS tapes that line the walls.

When you enter the pop-up, to the left is the majority of the seating area (if you remember the Chili’s restaurant layout, it’s similar). There’s also an arcade game where customers can play “Mortal Kombat.”

When you enter the pop-up, the bar area is to the right, next to a dance floor with a live DJ who’s playing ’90s hits, of course. The bar menu features mostly drinks with fun names, though one snack is included — the Fanny Pack ($15) contains assorted candies and Pringles, and guests can take the keepsake home.

Popular drinks include Orange Bangarang ($15) — Tito’s and Orange Bang topped with whipped cream — and Neon Spritz ($15). The latter features Tito’s and Harders Hawai

i tropical sparkling water with Blue Vanilla or Green River. Saturday Morning Toons ($15) — a mix of RumChata, Tanduay Silver and Cinnamon Toast Crunch milk — is an especially fun option.

If you’re there with a group, getting the Rum Punch Cooler ($45) makes for a fun, photogenic opportunity. The drink comes in an iconic Igloo cooler — remember those? — and features a mix of passionfruit, orange and guava puree, and Koloa Kaua‘i white rum. It’s complete with huge straws to use for drinking.

Stay tuned — we’re told after this pop-up ends, a 2000s-themed one will take its place. 

Open from 6 p.m. to midnight Fridays to Sundays until Aug. 31

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Running late

Kady Pascual

Social Media & Marketing Manager

More in Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

Enter for a chance to win tickets to see Disney’s live action adaptation of the animated film ‘Moana’

Hawai‘i Scene on Social meets Hawai‘i Skies

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Neighborhood weather updates

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Island vibes

Most read

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Running late

Authors

Kady Pascual

Social Media & Marketing Manager

More in Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

Enter for a chance to win tickets to see Disney’s live action adaptation of the animated film ‘Moana’

Hawai‘i Scene on Social meets Hawai‘i Skies

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Neighborhood weather updates

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: Island vibes

Most read