If you’ve been to Waikiki before — or seen pictures of the famed district — you’ve probably seen signs for ABC Stores, famous for their “catch-all” inventory, souvenirs, and on-the-go food. However, it would be quite a stretch to call the venues “eateries” or “markets.”
That’s all about to change, however. According to the Honolulu Star Advertiser, ABC Stores will take a new tack with the opening of Duke’s Lane Market & Eatery, a 13,000-square-foot restaurant and food store in the middle of Waikiki.
The paper reports that the new Waikiki eatery and market, which is to open in late May or early June, will be anchored by Basalt, a 150-seat restaurant named after Hawaii’s distinctive volcanic rock.
The restaurant will feature breakfast, lunch and dinner seating with locally sourced food. ABC Corporate Chef Kelly Degala, a self-described “Kalihi boy,” told the paper “It will be contemporary and refined, but it will be welcoming, not pretentious. In my eyes, food should be consistent, taste delicious, look beautiful and it should be fresh. Everything will be made on-site and sold that day.”
For visitors, the Waikiki eatery and market is a veritable food paradise! Imagine eating homemade doughnuts and malasadas, sold at 6, 7 and 8 a.m. fry times. Then, grabbing crab, lobster and Kauai prawns available at the raw bar along with poke and oysters.
Chef Degala told the paper that breakfast bao is on the grab-and-go menu, which will also include items like garlic fried rice and adobo. Homemade spam will top the musubis, which will be sold with tomato ketchup jelly.
Sandwiches at the burger bar will come on a homemade bun. Sauces and pickles will be made in-house, and the macaroni salad comes with flecks of chopped watercress.
At the hot window, homemade flatbread will be served with freshly made mozzarella and ricotta. Degala plans to serve items like Kona-coffee-spice-rub rotisserie chicken, Chinatown duck and tocino, the Filipino-style pork barbecue that he recalls from his childhood.
Here’s more of what you can expect at this new Waikiki eatery and market located on the ground floor of the Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach Hotel:
- In-house bakery
- Burger bar
- Poke
- Rice and raw bar
- Coffee bar
- Gelato and bubble tea bar
- Flatbread and rotisserie station
The Star Advertiser also reports that a retail section will focus on gourmet food prepared in-house and from vendors.
President and CEO of ABC Stores Paul Kosasa told the paper the venue was inspired by visitors who want to experience Hawaii cuisine, “We want to ride the wave of the food movement. Given Hawaii’s ethnic diversity and food diversity, it seemed natural to show off our different cultures through food.”
For visitors who booking Waikiki hotels, like the Royal Hawaiian or Moana Surfrider through Hawaii Aloha Travel, the venue will likely be within walking distance. That means an extra-layer of convenience for those hoping for a hot malasada for breakfast!
This 13,000 square foot food extravaganza will be open soon — so, make sure it’s a must-visit venue on your next trip to Hawaii!
