Business Monday: Kona restaurants form group to provide jobs, help nonprofits, revive downtown

For decades, popular Kailua-Kona eateries Jackie Rey’s, Harbor House and Umekes Fish Market Bar & Grill have been serving up surf and turf meals.

The owners joined forces in March to form the Hawai‘i Island Restaurant Group to pool resources, provide quality jobs and give back to the community.

The group already has expanded its portfolio with the recent purchase of Kona Inn Restaurant and Kona Canoe Club on Ali‘i Drive, with another goal of helping to bring back more life to the downtown area.

“Now we can work together on focusing on being a better employer, being a better steward of our land, being better role models in our community,” said Nakoa Pabre, owner of Umeke’s and executive chairman of the group.

Harbor House, which is situated at Honokohau Harbor, has been operating in Kona for about 25 years. It’s known for its locally caught fish, schooners and views.

Jackie Rey’s has been operating in Kona since 2004. It recently came under new ownership in August 2025 when Duane Otte and Matt Mather purchased the business.

Umekes opened in 2015 and is known for its fresh poke bowls made from locally caught ahi.

The two turn-key establishments, nestled in the Kona Village Shopping Center along the bustling Ali‘i Drive in downtown Kona were for sale for about two years before being bought. Their last listed sale price was $1.5 million.

The Kona Inn Restaurant — part of the former Kona Inn, the first luxury hotel on the Big Island that opened in 1928 — offers panoramic views of the bay, from Kamakahonu Historical Landmark at King Kamehameha Beach Hotel to Royal Kona Resort.

The Kona Canoe Club, which was once a sports bar owned by famed LA Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale, is along the breaking shoreline of Kailua Bay.

There are currently 300 people employed by the restaurants within the group.

Pabre said the creation of the restaurant group enables the businesses to create one employee application process. Currently, there are multiple job openings for front- and back-of-house positions, including management.

While all offer a different ambience and experience, the restaurant owners individually have shown commitment to the community through supporting nonprofit organizations. One of the pillars of this restaurant group is community investment, said Michael Hofstedt II, who joined the group as vice president of operations.

“We plan on giving in a broader way, but there’ll be one specific organization that we highlight at each location,” he said.

The Harbor House has been giving a portion of its proceeds every fourth Tuesday of the month to the Daniel R. Sayre Memorial Foundation, which supports the Hawai’i County Fire Department. The nonprofit raises funds to help purchase trucks, equipment and training.

Umeke’s supports the nonprofit Keiki of Da ‘Āina, which perpetuates Hawaiian culture and activities for children. Pabre said the restaurant will also be hosting a fishing tournament in May to raise funds for cancer research.

Since Jackie Rey’s opened, staff and volunteers have been passing out Thanksgiving meals to those in the community who might have gone hungry.

Pabre said the restaurant group is going to start an unsung heroes program within the community, where a different person is highlighted each month.

“Our focus is to continue the legacy of these restaurants,” Hofstedt said, adding as the group broadens and adds more restaurants, it’s an opportunity to support local businesses.

“Being able to communicate with a broader voice to the local community allows us to ensure that they (community) see the value in the group and the efforts that we’re making to give back in every possible way we can,” Hofstedt said.

Moving forward with the newly acquired restaurants on Ali‘i Drive, Pabre said his job in the group is to bring life back to the downtown area.

“I’m the visionary in the group,” he said.

Born and raised in Kona, Pabre said he used to look forward to going downtown to the Kona Inn area where there would be events on the lawn in front of the Kona Inn Restaurant as well as hit the arcade, Fun Factory.

“We’re coming up with creative ways to bring life back to the whole shopping center,” Pabre said.