La Mariana Owner passes.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008807290329

Sad, very sad. I hope that doesn't mean the end of that great place.
I had the pleasure to be introduced to her by Gecko in 2005.

Yes, a sweet, wonderful woman that my husband & I really enjoyed meeting back in 2004.
Truly sad to lose her - hopefully there will be a way the restaurant can be saved, too.

Aloha oe'.

Mahalo for keeping La Mariana alive for so many years.

I hope someone continues the legacy.

Annette Nahinu was a true blessing and will be sorely missed. I am so glad I got to meet her in 2003 on my trip to the Islands.

She was the embodiment of the Aloha Spirit!

Mahalo,
Jeff

A sad day indeed. My condolences to the family if they happen to read this. I'll post some of my pictures when I dig em up later.

I can't believe it took the advertiser 10 days to finally do an article on her passing.

She will be greatly missed, and I will be there asap to show my support.

La Mariana was definitely a special place that we visited in summer of last year. One of a kind. And the pictures we have from there I will cherish. Cheers to you Annette.

I am bummed!! She was a nice lady!! Thank You Filslash for introducing me to her and also Showing Laura and I the way to La Mariana. I hope somebody cool will keep it going!!

[ Edited by: The Sperm Whale 2008-07-29 17:29 ]

Ohhh no! Annette was such a sweetheart, and surely the heart of La Mariana.

This news makes me very sad.

Annette's passing is a great loss.

She did so much to rescue the Tiki treasures of the island and bring them together in her safe harbor. She not only rescued them, she gave them a second phase of life, if you will, as far beyond a collection, La Mariana has been a place that kept memory alive.

No, I was not fortunate enough to make the pilgrimage, nor did I ever get the chance to meet Annette, but through the travel tales of many Tikiphiles and of course Gecko in particular, I gained a great respect for Annette and her generous nature as well as her passion, not only for the restaurant itself, but its regulars and the people that through the years have made La Mariana such a special and unique place.

I also always felt a certain 'across the continent, Atlantic to the Pacific and beyond' connection of sorts to "La Mariana Sailing Club" because here in Maryland, we had another Amazing woman of Tiki who also passed recently, the legendary Vera of "Vera's White Sands restaurant and yacht club". Both women and their Tiki palaces were also deeply rooted in 'the boating set'. That connection to the sea, was something distinct, always giving Vera's at least a real down to earth (or down to water) locals kind of feel.

Annette kept important pieces of Hawai'i alive. I'm disappointed I never got the chance to meet her, much less talk story. But I know she gave much of herself to all who came to her little slice of paradise. I'm glad the connection between these Tiki generations happened, and that she was able to see some of us relative 'youngsters' truly appreciate her and what she had created. Her life touched so many of us, even those of us who have never been to the islands or La Mariana.

Raise a glass to her memory, thanks Annette.

Ad my voice to the many that hopes La Mariana will survive on.

Very sad news. We had the pleasure meeting her thanks to Gecko a couple of years ago and she was a remarkable lady.

God bless.

Sad to hear. We just returned from Oahu and Kauai and found this place to be the best experience (tied with Coco Palms) of the trip. We enjoyed three trips to La Mariana. Funny, with all the choices in Waikiki (Cheesecake Factory, Cheeseburger in Paradise, Hardrock Cafe, Planet Hollywood, California Pizza Kitchen, Macaroni Grill, Dave and Buster's, Gordon Biersch, etc.) why I would drive all the way out to La Mariana;)

With all the mega changes in Honolulu (since my last visit) and the knowledge that big changes happen when one generation passes on the tiki torch please take the time to visit the place while it is still there.

La Mariana is a real treasure.

http://starbulletin.com/2008/08/05/news/story14.html

Aloha

Weird. Her brother lives about 30 miles from me.

I had the pleasure of meeting Annette a couple of years ago and her warmth and grace were beyond compare.
La Mariana is always at the top of my list of places to visit when I return to Oahu. Annette created a true gem that embodies the Aloha spirit.
Aloha Nui Annette.
:tiki:

So sad. But my bigger question is, Didn't she sign away the rights to some scammer employee who was up on fraud charges from prior similar incidents? I had heard that she was tricked into signing over La Mariana's property rights to an "employee" who was bartering with a redevelopment firm...? Anyone have an update?

That article says an employee of ten years is the sole owner of the trust at this point.

Sabina, your post says it all for me.
I too have never been there, but Annette was one of the main "attractions" in Hawaii for me.

....I sure hope La Mariana is still there by the time I finally make it to the islands for a visit....

:cry:
F

Sorry to hear this. We'll never forget the night we first met Gecko and his ohana as well as the Mogambos at La Mariana. An enchanted evening.
KG

Until a month ago I lived in Honolulu for 13 years and La Mariana was my favorite hang-out. That was in part to the fact that a gracious Annette Nahinu would walk the tables (until very recently) and have a dinner conversation with patrons. She was lovely.
I wish her well in the tiki bar in the sky.
Aloha Annette,
Paul

Aloha Annette...

Wanted to share this with all those that appreciate La Mariana and who met Annette. We miss her and although it is business as usual there at La Mar, there is a large part of the soul of the place that is missing, of course. As La Mariana was a kind of second home to us, the passing of a close member of the ohana we would see about once a week...for years, well, it is always hard to take the sudden absence.
Gecko, Freddie, (House of Ku) and I hung out there a while back, talked story with Aunty. Took this pic among others. But this is my favorite.

That's a great photo - thanks for sharing it.

Mahalo Lanikai for posting that picture....Brings back some happy memories :)

Aloha, Freddie

[ Edited by: HOUSE OF KU 2008-09-09 22:00 ]

Aloha oe to that lovely lady. I saw her several times when I went to La Marianna. Usually, she would come into the restaurant to check things out for a short while, then head back upstairs for some rest time. Can't blame her, she'd earned it.

I REALLY hope La Marianna continues on. It is such a special place. When any of you has more info on La Marianna's future, could you please post it?

youtube video featuring Annette:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Kd5XhnotP0

I hope it's still open...I'll be on island next week.

Here's an update from today's Honolulu Advertiser:

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080928/BUSINESS/809280331/1071

Future unclear for La Mariana

When Annette Nahinu died in July, the future of the La Mariana Sailing Club and tiki bar restaurant that she built and operated for more than 50 years was in doubt.
Advertisement

The 93-year-old Nahinu was not married, had no heirs and had entrusted the day-to-day operations of the club and restaurant to her manager, Judith Calma. Upon her death, Nahinu believed, La Mariana would continue operating as usual, with her trust holding the stock in the company.

But eight months before she died, Nahinu reached an operating and management agreement with Grace International, a firm headed by John Mendoza, that called for Nahinu's interest in La Mariana to be sold to Mendoza for $1. Court documents show that Nahinu indeed signed the agreement, but there are conflicting opinions as to whether she was mentally sound when she put her name to the document.

Edward Sanpei, Nahinu's attorney, argues that his client didn't remember signing such a contract. He added that Nahinu never would have agreed to sell her La Mariana at such a low price, unless she was coerced to do so.

A year earlier, he said, Nahinu agreed to sell La Mariana to Mendoza for $3 million, but that deal was canceled by Mendoza because he said he was unable to secure financing to acquire the property because of the short remaining term of the state lease, which expires April 30, 2014.

"The consideration set forth in the operating agreement — $1 — is clearly grossly inadequate," Sanpei wrote in a document filed in Honolulu Circuit Court.

Three months before Nahinu's death, Mendoza exercised his option to acquire the stock, but that caught everyone associated with La Mariana by surprise because Nahinu had never mentioned closing a deal to sell the business. She also said that she was never given a copy of the operating agreement with Mendoza, according to court documents.

Attorney James Sattler filed a lawsuit on behalf of Mendoza against Nahinu in May, accusing her of breach of contract. The lawsuit asked that the agreement be enforced and also sought an unspecified amount in damages.

Sanpei filed a counterclaim, accusing Mendoza and two agents with the real estate firm RE/MAX Honolulu, which brokered the deal, of "overreaching, deception and undue influence" in the way they got Nahinu to sign the agreement.

"Grace (International) employed unfair or deceptive acts or practices by, among other things, conspiring with Realtors to mislead Nahinu into believing she was selling her interest in La Mariana on the earlier agreed upon purchase price of $3 million, instead of $1," Sanpei wrote.

The validity of the contract remains in litigation.

Complicating the issue was the indictment of Mendoza in May in a separate case on federal charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and making false statements on loan applications. He is accused of being the mastermind of a mortgage fraud scheme on O'ahu.

Mendoza is scheduled to go on trial in March, and the outcome could affect the case against Nahinu if Mendoza is convicted and sent to prison.

Sattler did not return phone calls last week and Mendoza could not be reached for comment. Lyle Ishida, attorney for RE/MAX, would not comment because of the ongoing litigation.

Sanpei said he was "pretty confident" that the lawsuit and claims against Nahinu's estate will be dismissed. He would not comment further on the details of the case.
Things still the same

While all this legal maneuvering is going on, the La Mariana Sailing Club and restaurant continue to operate. Not much has changed since Nahinu's death, except for a small memorial that was set up at a table where she had lunch daily.

The familiar glass balls hang in fish nets from the ceiling, which is lined with the white Christmas lights, and diners navigate the restaurant's uneven concrete floor. During a recent lunch hour, dozens of people dined at the restaurant and a handful of men sat at the bar while a piano player entertained the crowd.

With no air conditioning, the restaurant can get a bit warm, particularly when the trade winds disappear. But that doesn't deter the loyal customers and curious first-timers from enjoying a seafood lunch, favorite beverage or the company of the employees.

"This is the only place out here where you can have a beer at a reasonable price in a nice atmosphere with nice people," said Charles Francis, 59, of 'Aiea. With its location on a dusty road off Sand Island Access Road, La Mariana also is a good place to hide, said Francis, who has been a regular for more than 20 years.

"It's like a 'no-tell motel.' Nobody knew anything about it. Unless you knew it, nobody came around," Francis said. "It's always been enjoyable, comfortable. I bring my wife sometimes. It's a good place and it really hasn't changed much."

Rich Pennington, an executive with Dorvin Leis Co., agreed and said there are very few places like La Mariana still around. Pennington said he has eaten there a couple of times a week for the past nine years.

"There's not a lot of people who know about it," Pennington said. "It's convenient for us because we just work up the street. But you can get in and out, the food's decent and the people friendly."

Both men said they heard the rumors about La Mariana possibly being sold. They said they would continue going there, unless a new owner made drastic changes that took away the ambience of the restaurant.

Another thing they agreed on was that they missed Nahinu, who lived on the second floor above the restaurant and was a mainstay at the eatery.

"I always liked Annette," Francis said. "She'd be here or she'd be in her office with her pencil, figuring out what was going on dollar-wise and trying to make things better for the customers and herself. She worked hard at this. She really did."

Calma said she hasn't made any changes to the restaurant since taking over. The only addition is a laminated menu that has a tribute to Nahinu on the back.

"We're continuing it the way Annette had left it because that was her wish," Calma said. "Her memory will be with us, with the place, for as long as we have the place going."

Calma started at La Mariana 11 years ago as a waitress and worked her way up to manager. She is now president of La Mariana Sailing Club and is the trustee of Nahinu's estate.
'I never sold the place'

While Nahinu was alive, Calma said, no one interfered with the business activities at La Mariana. So when Mendoza said he was purchasing the club and restaurant, Calma said she believed Nahinu had reached a deal and would someday tell her staff of 25.

"We kept waiting for that 'one day' and I finally asked Annette what was going on, if she really sold the place," Calma said. "But she said, 'No. I never sold the place and if I did, where's my money?' "

During the final months of her life, Nahinu was often forgetful and asked the same question many times, Calma said. When Nahinu was showed the operating agreement, she said she didn't remember signing it, Calma said.

Sanpei argues that Mendoza and the Realtors took advantage of Nahinu's declining mental capacity to get her to sign the contract.

"Nahinu suffered from deteriorated health, diminished capacity, mental weakness and frequent lapses of memory," he wrote in his court filing. "No attorney for Nahinu provided any input to or reviewed the operating agreement before Nahinu signed it. Nahinu was not provided with any reasonable opportunity to consult with any of her attorneys as to the interpretation and desirability of the terms and provisions of the operating agreement."

Sattler argued in his filing that it was Nahinu's responsibility to seek legal advice if she did not understand the terms of the contract. He also said that none of the documents filed on Nahinu's behalf stated that she was legally incompetent when she signed the agreement.

"Assuming ... Nahinu was legally incompetent at the time she executed the management agreement, did any such legal incompetency just 'come and go?' " Sattler wrote.
Life goes on

In the meantime, Calma said, the restaurant will go on as if Nahinu were still running it. On Sept. 22, the restaurant shut down at 5 p.m. so employees and friends could celebrate Nahinu's 94th birthday.

"For me, she's still here and I think she's still going to be here for as long as this place is standing because this is her. This is Annette," Calma said. "I still talk to her in my mind. Sometimes I go, 'OK, Annette, what am I going to do now?' I go to her grave to have comfort. Talking to her is my comfort."

Mo-Eye, Thanks for the post.. I never made it to the restaurant when Annette was alive, The one time I tried to find it I got lost... I will be going to Oahu in the beginning of Oct and will definitely find it this time, sure wish I could have met Annette though...

This Mendoza guy sounds like a major scam man to me.. $1.00 for the Restaurant?? I don't think so...
Aloha

Beachbumz, I'm near the LM, so if you need someone to point the finger let me know.
[email protected]

Suck em' up!

She was a nice lady.

Annette's' faithful companion....Bombay the wonder dog...

double post

[ Edited by: HOUSE OF KU 2008-10-10 03:35 ]