KAIMUKI, Hawaii (KHON2) — This is the last month for Oahu residents to eat at Big City Diner’s Kaimuki location.
The local restaurant chain’s owner confirmed with KHON2 that business costs, staffing shortages and slow pandemic recovery contributed to the decision to close.
Longtime Kaimuki residents were shocked to hear the news that Big City Diner’s original location is closing.
“Surprising, you know, Big City Diner has been here for a long time, used to take our kids here when they were young,” Kaimuki Neighborhood Board chair Brian Kang said. “I think we’re seeing more kind of small local boutiques come in, small restaurants, specialized restaurants. I hope we’re going to see another local business come in.”
The director of EnVision Kaimuki told KHON2 that the only constant is change.
“This used to be just like downtown Honolulu,” Lori Yamada said. “You could get everything, like right next to the Queen Theater and go to the movies, the one that’s a vape store was a shoe store!”
The area representative said Kaimuki is home to many kupuna who do not go out to eat as often as they used to.
“Restaurants in Kaimuki are its mainstay,” Rep. Bert Kobayashi said. “Without restaurants, it would be a very sleepy town. I think as a community ages, less people go out to eat.”
Yamada added there is a push to make Kaimuki more of a college town with Kapiolani Community College, Chaminade and the University of Hawaii all being just a short bus or car ride away.
“This is like in the middle of all this, all those schools,” Yamada said. “So, it’s sort of a natural for them to maybe bring their business here instead of going to the malls.”
The neighborhood board agreed and hopes longtime businesses still find a way to survive the younger trend.
“I hope there’ll be a mix, though,” Kang said. “It’s so nice to have these kind of established businesses too here, but that’s certainly the trend.”
The owner confirmed that the Kailua, Windward, Pearlridge and Waipio Big City Diner locations will remain open and the community can continue to support them there.
The Kaimuki location will close at the end of May, 2024.