Popular Hawai'i restaurateur places businesses on the market
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Fearing deportation this summer, popular Thai chef Chai Chaowasaree said yesterday he has decided to sell one of his two restaurants.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
The 38-year-old chef known as Chai is on parole while awaiting a final decision on his deportation case before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court will hear the case June 14, but there is no timetable for a decision.
Chai's Island Bistro at Aloha Tower Marketplace is for sale.
With that in mind, Chai put both his restaurants — Chai's Island Bistro and Singha Thai Cuisine — on the market. He said his sister will run whichever restaurant does not sell.
"Because we don't know what the decision will be, I just thought it best to put them on the market," Chai said. "I've been thinking about it, and I just feel this is the best thing for now."
Both restaurants are profitable, he said. He declined to discuss prices or potential buyers, but the businesses are listed with O'ahu broker Paul Kang.
Chai was in custody under jurisdiction of the Immigration and Naturalization Service from Feb. 13 to March 23 at the O'ahu Community Correctional Center.
He has been fighting deportation since 1991, when the INS determined that his 1985 marriage to a Big Island woman was fraudulent, and moved to deport him.
His problems were compounded when he left the United States to visit his ailing father in Thailand. Upon his return, INS officials told him he had voided his appeal and violated the terms of his residency. Chai countered that INS officials at Honolulu airport led him to believe he could return on a temporary alien registration card.
Chai said he has tried not to think too much about the pending case, immersing himself in 14-hour work days.
"It is something that is out of my control," he said. "I try not to let it bother me, and do what I can."
