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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Wednesday, February 19, 2003

Hilo loses popular restaurant

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

HILO, Hawai'i — The well-known restaurant, bar and Big Island political hangout known as Fiascos closed for good Monday night, a victim of new competition in the Hilo market and changes in local dining habits, according to one of its owners.

Mike Middlesworth, treasurer of Kilauea Restaurant Corp. and an investor in Fiascos, said the restaurant staff and well-wishers stayed late Monday night at the Kanoelehua Avenue bar to knock back a few final drinks before the doors locked for good.

About 30 part- and full-time employees lost their jobs in the closing, Middlesworth said.

The restaurant opened in 1987 and evolved into a lunchtime hub for business and political leaders in Hilo, particularly during the tenure of former Mayor Stephen Yamashiro.

Middlesworth said new competition cut into the business, including a food court at the Waiakea Shopping Center that also houses Wal-Mart. The operation suffered another blow from the economic fallout from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The owners filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in July and cut prices later in the year to try to generate more business, but Middlesworth said customers' dining habits seem to have changed in recent years.

"We did a number of things to try to improve business, and it did improve some, but just not enough," he said.