urgent : important news regarding kona / sam's seafood - General Tiki

T tikiyaki Tiki Socialite The Exotic Port of REDONDO BEACH, CA Joined: May 18, 2004 Posts: 2725	T tikiyaki Posted posted on Tue, Feb 3, 2009 3:26 PM On 2009-02-03 14:59, Tom Slick wrote: Not trying to come off like an ass, but why is Kona/Sams always having closing problems? Is it management? Location? Owners? It seems every 3-6 months that location has some issues. I mean, weren't the Sam's Seafood Mugs remade, and less than a year later, it changes hands(who's hands, I dunno?...Property owner/Subleased?) and is renamed to Kona...I just don't understand how money can be poured into revamping, and less than a year changes owners and name...I went in support of the "Save Sam's" the first time around...I even made it to the "Grande Finale dinner show" when all hope had seemed lost, and my understanding was that the land management company wanted to level the building to make way for a strip mall or condo housing project. That had always been stated, since the land was being subleased(?). Does anyone have direct clarification on who owns the property that Kona resides on, and is it the man who is currently running Kona? I was supporting when it was Sam's, but when it had changed to Kona...Well, for me, it got a little to deep in the pockets. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for a 99 cent aloha burger special, but I am also not willing to shell out $14 for a burger either. For that upscale type of dining, I'd probably enjoy Roy's Hawaiian Fusion, just as well or better for the pricing. Anyhow, I'd ultimately hate to see it go, but I would like to know who is running what, and focus my energy towards those who really have the final say. Tom Slick...When was the last time you were actually there ? When the restaurant changed to KONA, they dropped the food prices from the "New Sam's" - THAT'S When a Burger was $14. Now a Kobe beef Burger is $10...and that's KOBE beef. The land owner is not the restaurant owner. He just owns the land and purchased it for the specific purpose of leveling it for condos. When the market softened, the neighbors protested condo development, he decided to rent it out again, as it would take years for the coastal commission to approve building on that land. It's up to you....if you love Tiki, and don't care about saving one of the only remaining classic tiki places in OC and the South Bay, then I see that as kind of contradictory. But in the end it's up to you to just leave it alone , or pitch in and help. Keep in mind that the restaurant is a whopping 15,000 SQ ft (yes, 15 thousand!!!), and the average rental price for restaurant based retail in the area s 3 per sq ft a month. Do the math. Either way, business practices aside, as a tiki enthusiast, all I can do is think of how many original tiki places we DON'T have anymore, and that's all the fuel I need to rally the troops and try to keep this place from going under again. With regard to food prices there is a Sunset Menu every night - $10.99 get you a full meal, with some great choices. Happy Hour has amazing appetizers for $3 and $4 and Mai Tais are $5. The normal price of a drink there is usually $7 or $8. Far from unreasonable Do you have your TIKIYAKI ORCHESTRA CD YET ? http://www.myspace.com/tikiyaki http://www.tikiyakiorchestra.com [ Edited by: tikiyaki 2009-02-03 15:30 ]

On 2009-02-03 14:59, Tom Slick wrote:
Not trying to come off like an ass, but why is Kona/Sams always having closing problems? Is it management? Location? Owners? It seems every 3-6 months that location has some issues. I mean, weren't the Sam's Seafood Mugs remade, and less than a year later, it changes hands*(who's hands, I dunno?...Property owner/Subleased?)* and is renamed to Kona...I just don't understand how money can be poured into revamping, and less than a year changes owners and name...I went in support of the "Save Sam's" the first time around...I even made it to the "Grande Finale dinner show" when all hope had seemed lost, and my understanding was that the land management company wanted to level the building to make way for a strip mall or condo housing project. That had always been stated, since the land was being subleased(?).

Does anyone have direct clarification on who owns the property that Kona resides on, and is it the man who is currently running Kona? I was supporting when it was Sam's, but when it had changed to Kona...Well, for me, it got a little to deep in the pockets. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for a 99 cent aloha burger special, but I am also not willing to shell out $14 for a burger either. For that upscale type of dining, I'd probably enjoy Roy's Hawaiian Fusion, just as well or better for the pricing.

Anyhow, I'd ultimately hate to see it go, but I would like to know who is running what, and focus my energy towards those who really have the final say.

Tom Slick...When was the last time you were actually there ? When the restaurant changed to KONA, they dropped the food prices from the "New Sam's" - THAT'S When a Burger was $14. Now a Kobe beef Burger is $10...and that's KOBE beef.

The land owner is not the restaurant owner. He just owns the land and purchased it for the specific purpose of leveling it for condos. When the market softened, the neighbors protested condo development, he decided to rent it out again, as it would take years for the coastal commission to approve building on that land.

It's up to you....if you love Tiki, and don't care about saving one of the only remaining classic tiki places in OC and the South Bay, then I see that as kind of contradictory. But in the end it's up to you to just leave it alone , or pitch in and help.

Keep in mind that the restaurant is a whopping 15,000 SQ ft (yes, 15 thousand!!!), and the average rental price for restaurant based retail in the area s 3 per sq ft a month. Do the math.

Either way, business practices aside, as a tiki enthusiast, all I can do is think of how many original tiki places we DON'T have anymore, and that's all the fuel I need to rally the troops and try to keep this place from going under again.

With regard to food prices there is a Sunset Menu every night - $10.99 get you a full meal, with some great choices.

Happy Hour has amazing appetizers for $3 and $4 and Mai Tais are $5. The normal price of a drink there is usually $7 or $8. Far from unreasonable

Do you have your TIKIYAKI ORCHESTRA CD YET ?
http://www.myspace.com/tikiyaki
http://www.tikiyakiorchestra.com

[ Edited by: tikiyaki 2009-02-03 15:30 ]

Post #432285 by tikiyaki on Tue, Feb 3, 2009 3:26 PM