Long-standing Kona restaurants along Ali‘i Drive sell as package after 2 years on the market

After two years on the market, the Kona Inn Restaurant and the Kona Canoe Club have been purchased by the newly formed Island Restaurant Group that encompasses three other beloved and iconic Kona eateries.

The new group was formed by Jackie Rey’s, Harbor House and Umekes Fish Market Bar & Grill.

Nakoa Pabre, owner of Umekes and executive chairman of the group, said the goal is to offer better-quality jobs and give back more to the community.

Pabre said plans for the 100-year-old Kona Inn Restaurant include updating the menu while keeping the longtime charm in place.

Pabre said when people go to Kona Inn, it will still feel the same.

“We have all the same employees in both (Kona Inn Restaurant and Canoe Club) locations,” Pabre said. “We’re just there to help the employees we have, but work on making a better menu and better quality food and service.”

Pabre said the new group gave employees at the beloved eatery hope.

“We gave them a vision,” Pabre said. “We’re going to work immediately on fixing up some things, like fixing the awning, reinvesting some furniture and some back-of-the-house equipment and revamping the menu.”

Pabre, who was born and raised in Kona, spent a lot of time at the restaurant growing up, saying everybody loves it.

“My dad was a busboy at Kona Inn,” he added. “I met my wife at Kona Inn.”

In 2024, the leases and contents of the Kona Inn Restaurant and Kona Canoe Club were listed for $3 million, but in March 2025, the price dramatically dropped.

The two turn-key establishments, nestled in the Kona Village Shopping Center along the bustling Ali‘i Drive in downtown Kona, were being sold for $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.

Pabre said the plan for the Canoe Club is to rebrand, but still pay homage to the canoe.

“We’re going to do tapas, which is small plates from all around Polynesia,” Pabre said.

“Each restaurant within the group operates as its own Hawai‘i-based entity,” according to a news release from the group. This structure keeps decision-making close to each location and preserves the character and identity that guests know, while shared operational support provides consistency behind the scenes.

“Our goal is to build something that reflects the spirit of the islands,” the group added. “Something that people feel proud to be part of, whether they work with us, partner with us, or walk through our doors.”

Michael Hofstedt II joined the group as vice president of operations.

Hofstedt, who has lived on the Big Island for about 10 years, has worked in the food and beverage industry up and down the North Kona and South Kohala Coast from the Mauna Kea to Director of Food and Beverage at the Four Seasons Resort at Hualālai.

Hofstedt said he joined the group because he wanted to be personally and professionally more connected to the community.

“One of the pillars of this restaurant group is community investment,” he said.

Hofstedt said it’s exciting to work with a group that’s focused on bringing back some of the iconic elements and aspects of the Kona Inn Restaurant and Kona Canoe Club and celebrating their legacies.

“The initial focus is to invest in both restaurants to bring them up-to-date, both from an operations perspective, but also from an ambience perspective,” Hofstedt said. “That means modernizing the equipment, but then also refreshing the space inside the restaurant.”

In the Kona Inn Restaurant, there are particular elements, like the fully-fan system and the tall-back chairs that give the eatery its charm. Hofstedt said those elements will remain.