Posted on: Monday, October 22, 2001

New owners of Brew Moon add personal touch

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Six months after acquiring the Hawai'i unit of Brew Moon out of bankruptcy, new local owners are applying some personal touches to the former chain restaurant and microbrewery.

Changes will include a new menu, a new chef, a new look and more live music with a "jazz note," according to Marcus Bender, principal investor.

The menu, created by David Luna, a Houston native and former executive chef at the New Orleans historical landmark Broussard's, will be adopted in the next week or so, followed by remodeling work to be done during off hours starting in the next couple of weeks.

"We want to warm it up," Bender said. "We love the environment. I think it needs a personality."

Bender, president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian Natural Water Co., in April paid $200,000 for Brew Moon with Shawn Rubert, the brewpub's general manager, and brewmaster Brennan Fielding.

Brew Moon opened at Ward Centre in 1998 after local entrepreneur Laurie Foster convinced Boston-based franchiser Brew Moon Enterprises Inc. to let her establish a Hawai'i franchise. Foster found investors, raised $3 million and made the restaurant profitable, according to Rubert.

But Brew Moon Enterprises, which had anticipated making a public stock offering last year, filed for Chapter 11 protection late last year after running short of cash.

Microbrewery operator Rock Bottom Restaurants Inc. purchased Brew Moon's four East Coast operations, but didn't want the Hawai'i outlet.

Bender said the opportunity to purchase the brewpub couldn't have come at a better time, given recent improvements around Ward Centre, such as the theater, Dave & Buster's and retail shops that opened earlier this year.

Still, operating the business while in bankruptcy was a challenge, according to Rubert, who recalled one morning following the bankruptcy filing when a Gas Co. employee arrived to disconnect the restaurant's service.

"The chef runs out on the lanai (and says), 'Wait a minute, wait a minute. There's been a mistake. Don't shut the gas off,' " Rubert recalled. "That was the daily struggle: trying to convince people we were open. It's been interesting."