# So are restaurants surviving in this economy?



## gstepic (Oct 1, 2009)

So far i have not read about any favorite restaurants going out of business, and for selfish reasons I am happy and of course I do not like seeing any business owner fail.

I remember two years ago having a tough time finding parking in Lahiana and last year it was no problem, a marked difference. Last fall decrease in tourists I believe was due to the high fuel prices - high cost of flying.

So does tourism seems as good as last year, better or worse? Any easier to get deals? From looking at tour sites it appears prices have pretty much stayed the same. 

Gary


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## BevL (Oct 1, 2009)

DOn't know about Maui but when we were on the Big Island in Kona in March, we noticed a lot of places that were empty, closed.  One activities person that we had dealt with previously was saying she would probably have to move back to the mainland as she just couldn't afford to continue to live in Hawai.


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## Luanne (Oct 1, 2009)

BevL said:


> DOn't know about Maui but when we were on the Big Island in Kona in March, we noticed a lot of places that were empty, closed.  One activities person that we had dealt with previously was saying she would probably have to move back to the mainland as she just couldn't afford to continue to live in Hawai.



We noticed the same thing on the Big Island.  Not just restaurants, but other businesses that had shut their doors.  So sad.


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## gstepic (Oct 1, 2009)

*Big Island may not be visites as much as Maui or Oahu*

I would think the Big Island would be hardest hit by tough times. Personally we want to go back as there was much we still had not seen and there are a lot of sites I want to revisit.

I have been self-employeed so I really feel for businesses that struggle. My wife and I will do our best to help them out! I probably should not be kidding about but it does kind of help knowing we could be helping some business owner make ends meet. 

Gary


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## lv_maui (Oct 1, 2009)

*Interesting question*



gstepic said:


> So far i have not read about any favorite resteraunts going out of business, and for selfish reasons I am happy and of course I do not like seeing any business owner fail.
> 
> I remember two years ago having a tough time finding parking in Lahiana and last year it was no problem, a marked difference. Last fall decrease in tourists I believe was due to the high fuel prices - high cost of flying.
> 
> ...



I can only compare to earlier this year such as Feb.  The typical tourist that came to Hawaii had purchased their airline tickets in the fall of 2008.  This was somewhat before when the real bad negative economy news was a constant news story. This tourist had no choice but to use their airline tickets but when they came to Hawaii, their discretionary spending was way down.  They did not book $$$ activities and dinners.

Now, the typical tourist is there by choice and made reservations knowing how bad the economy was.  Now, they are spending much more money on some of those activities and dinners.  Not near normal but I would guess 20% more than Feb.

The answer to your question in Maui is that the good restaraunts seem to be hanging on but you will now see sunset specials when they did not have those before.  Or there will be other lower prices.  There are a tremendous amount of vacate space on front street and other places.  But the good restaurants seem to be making through the storm.  I cannot think of one place that I like that is gone.

I hope this makes sense.


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## thheath (Oct 2, 2009)

*Kauai*

Here on Kauai the down economy has hit the island hard.  A good many of the business that cater to visitors have either closed or scaled back.  An example being the Hyatt that closed a least one of their restaurants that I am aware of.  Also in Poipu where they are building the new shopping area it is like a ghost town and most of the businesses that were supposed to have opened 6 months ago have not.  My recommendation if visiting is to ask about specials and discounts, whether it is a tour, restaurant or what ever. Most business will extend some type of discount to attract business during these slow times.


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## jehb2 (Oct 3, 2009)

I saw this article in the Honolulu Advertiser when we were visiting last month. 

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2009/Aug/24/ln/hawaii908240346.html

It said that while visitation to the island was up, tourist spending was down.  On hotel manager said he could simply tell from the trash in the rooms that visitors were eating out in restaurants much less and spending more at grocery stores and fast food places.


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## thheath (Oct 3, 2009)

jehb2 said:


> I saw this article in the Honolulu Advertiser when we were visiting last month.
> 
> http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2009/Aug/24/ln/hawaii908240346.html
> 
> It said that while visitation to the island was up, tourist spending was down.  On hotel manager said he could simply tell from the trash in the rooms that visitors were eating out in restaurants much less and spending more at grocery stores and fast food places.



I follow the issue everyday in the Hawaii newspapers and as a whole visitors are down drastically from pre-recession days and as mentioned people are spending less.  Any increase in visitors or spending is a monthly thing and does not reflect an overall increase in the long term. 

For visitors it's a good thing, hotel/restaurant specials and other tourism related deals are everywhere.


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## gejone (Oct 12, 2009)

thheath said:


> Here on Kauai the down economy has hit the island hard.  A good many of the business that cater to visitors have either closed or scaled back.  An example being the Hyatt that closed a least one of their restaurants that I am aware of.  Also in Poipu where they are building the new shopping area it is like a ghost town and most of the businesses that were supposed to have opened 6 months ago have not.  My recommendation if visiting is to ask about specials and discounts, whether it is a tour, restaurant or what ever. Most business will extend some type of discount to attract business during these slow times.




Some of us are fortunate that are incomes haven't suffered and we still have money available to travel. May I suggest that instead of asking for a discount, pay the going rate and consider that your personal stimulus package to help the Hawaiian economy. I've found that when I go out to eat in Hawaii the price isn't much higher than some of the restaurants at home, and I don't ask for a discount at those restaurants. I'm not saying don't order the nightly special, but their economy depends on us spending money, and their success enhances our vacation experience.


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## Kauai Kid (Oct 12, 2009)

During my last two weeks on Kauai I noticed several restaurants that had closed since our last visit.

Since our US Air flight was canceled they put us up at the Hilton with $5 vouchers for breakfast and lunch and $10 voucher for dinner.

I asked for a discount on the $5 baked potato to no avail.   

We generally try to go to restaurants utilized by the locals rather than the chains.  Every year the number of "local" restaurants decrease.


Sterling

 "The best way to loose a million dollars is open a restaurant"


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## lv_maui (Oct 12, 2009)

*Maui UPdate*



Kauai Kid said:


> During my last two weeks on Kauai I noticed several restaurants that had closed since our last visit.



I was in Lahaina last week and did not see any restaurants that closed down recently.  IN fact, I did see some local activity shops opening up with a new business.  However, I was at the Outriggter Aina Nalu, and looked to be 50% full.  It was great accomodations for a business guy, but def not good for tourims.

I ate at
** Longhi's - Great
** Fu Lin - food was ok, but service fiasco was bad
** Kimo's - OK
** Outback steakhouse - Good and good prices for happy hour.
** Kobe Steakhouse - They try to be a benihana, but really everything is poor

Funny story about Ruth Chris's steakhouse.  I had a coupon for $25 off 2 dinner entres.  Coupon came from the Aina Nalu.  I went to the restaurant and asked if they would honor half of the coupoun $12.50 for dinner and that I was going get a couple of cocktails, and a nice steak and vegetable.  The lady said yes, but let me check with the General Manager who was dressed in casual clothes eating at the bar with some pretty girl.  She came back and said no, and referred me to the special on the menu.  I asked her if she meant the special that anyone can get and she said yes.  I said, you sure?  Yep.  Ok, see ya.  I think that was stupid to turn away good money.


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## RSchwartz (Oct 12, 2009)

We were in Maui last March and noticed a big change in Lahina restaurants.  No waiting at Cheeseburger, Bubba Gumps, BJ's Pizza, etc., and the restaurants were more or less empty.  We had our choice of tables.  We also noticed that the whaling and dinner cruises we went on were 25% full and we were able to get discounts on every tour we took.  Traffic is way done.  It was sad to see what the economy has done to the area.


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## Born2Travel (Oct 13, 2009)

RSchwartz said:


> We were in Maui last March and noticed a big change in Lahina restaurants. No waiting at Cheeseburger, Bubba Gumps, BJ's Pizza, etc., and the restaurants were more or less empty. We had our choice of tables. We also noticed that the whaling and dinner cruises we went on were 25% full and we were able to get discounts on every tour we took. Traffic is way done. It was sad to see what the economy has done to the area.


 
We were there in April and noticed the same thing though I didn't really notice that many had gone out of business.  I know the Tony Roma's was gone - I'm not sure why they closed, but that's the only one on the West side I can think of that was closed, the rest were just not nearly as busy as they usually are.


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## JeffW (Oct 13, 2009)

I'll be going to Kauai next week, Maui the following week, so I'm hoping to find some discounts. I'm not going to start haggling over prices ("will you take $15 for the steak dinner instead of $20?"), but if they advertise a discount, and it's a place we'd otherwise go to, why not.

Jeff


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## lv_maui (Oct 14, 2009)

JeffW said:


> I'll be going to Kauai next week, Maui the following week, so I'm hoping to find some discounts. I'm not going to start haggling over prices ("will you take $15 for the steak dinner instead of $20?"), but if they advertise a discount, and it's a place we'd otherwise go to, why not.
> 
> Jeff



YOu should find those discounts especially for restaurants that never had sunset specials.


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## JeffW (Oct 24, 2009)

At just about the end of our first week in Hawaii (on Kauai), I can say that I haven't seen any discounts here.  None of the restaurants we've gone to have offered any specials that I've seen.  We saw the South Pacific show, and 30 of 31 tables (10 per table) @ $80-$85 p/p ($100 for a couple of tables up from) were fill, so not much hurting there.

We're off to Maui, maybe it will be different over there.

Jeff


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## gstepic (Oct 26, 2009)

*No slow down in Waikiki*

We arrived in Waikiki yesterday and the city seems as crowded as ever. The Moose at Moose McGillycuddy's either got laid off or retired, that was the only change i saw from last year.

Gary


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## DeniseM (Oct 26, 2009)

JeffW said:


> At just about the end of our first week in Hawaii (on Kauai), I can say that I haven't seen any discounts here.  None of the restaurants we've gone to have offered any specials that I've seen.  We saw the South Pacific show, and 30 of 31 tables (10 per table) @ $80-$85 p/p ($100 for a couple of tables up from) were fill, so not much hurting there.
> 
> We're off to Maui, maybe it will be different over there.
> 
> Jeff



How did you like the show?  Where are you staying?


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## JeffW (Oct 26, 2009)

3 in my part liked the show, I thought it was a bit slow.  There were some good performers in the show, though I'm not sure where they get $85 for the show.  Neither the food nor the show were worth half of that, but live entertainment is tough to come by on the islands, so I guess you pay a premium.

We were staying at the Westin Princeville, just a phenonimal resort.  We're at the Hono Koa now in Maui, a huge step down.

Jeff


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## northpole (Oct 26, 2009)

JeffW said:


> At just about the end of our first week in Hawaii (on Kauai), I can say that I haven't seen any discounts here.  None of the restaurants we've gone to have offered any specials that I've seen.  We saw the South Pacific show, and 30 of 31 tables (10 per table) @ $80-$85 p/p ($100 for a couple of tables up from) were fill, so not much hurting there.
> 
> We're off to Maui, maybe it will be different over there.
> 
> Jeff



_The South Pacific Show_ - is that the one at the Hilton?


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## JeffW (Oct 26, 2009)

Yes.  FYI only discount I saw was $5 off for making booking directly online with them.  We asked our Westin concierge about it, all she could get was the regular $85 price.

Jeff


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## easyrider (Oct 26, 2009)

Kauai Kid said:


> Sterling
> 
> "The best way to loose a million dollars is open a restaurant"



The November Entrepreneur Magazine has an article that says its a great time to buy a resteraunt. There are also some sucess stories and a footprint on how one person has succeeded in this economy and how others are expanding. 
Around here there are these new coffee stands that feature barristas in lingerie making your coffee. Theres always a line when we drive by.


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## JeffW (Oct 27, 2009)

Still not seeing any great deals:

- got 10% off Peggy Sue's in Kihea, but that was only because I saw it mentioned on their website (no discounts mentioned in any local ad).

- Chez Paul, a great French restaurant outside Lahaina, has a buy one, get 2nd 50% off deal.  Two of the more popular items (rack of lamb & lobster tail) are excluded).  Years ago, we got buy one, get one coupons, with no restrictions.

- a couple of the restuaurants down in Waimea have $49 appetizer/entree/dessert specials.  Spago for one of them, though the fine print it's good for dining from 530p-600p, and I think 845p-915p.

Jeff


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