New Eagle Cafe on the move
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
The New Eagle Cafe will move at the end of May for the third time under its family ownership and take with it the restaurant's place in history as a police staging area during Hawai'i's worst mass murder and a more happy reputation for inexpensive but plentiful food.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
The restaurant's lease at its Nimitz Highway location is running out and owner John Teruya plans to serve his last meal there on May 25.
Michael Ito, left, and Eugene Ebisuya, both of Pearl City, are among the many diners from all over O'ahu who frequent the New Eagle Cafe. Lori Young takes their order at the restaurant, which is looking for new premises.
Teruya isn't sure where he'll reopen or when. But he hopes to find an even bigger site in the Nimitz area, where New Eagle Cafe has developed a steady stream of customers from all over O'ahu and spillover business from nearby Costco and Home Depot.
New Eagle Cafe serves a variety of food, from local-style plate lunches to a 16-ounce prime rib dinner with soup, salad, dessert and drink for $15.95. A 1-pound Maine lobster with soup, salad, dessert and drink costs $1 more.
"They used to call it soup to nuts," Teruya said.
Back in his parents' day in the late 1960s, George and Teruko Teruya took over the Eagles Cafe at Fort Street and Chaplain Lane in the Blaisdell Hotel. They wanted a similar name, but one that reflected a new era.
"So they put the word 'New' in front," John Teruya said.
In 1976, they moved to Nu'uanu Avenue and Pauahi Street, then to Nimitz in 1998, where New Eagle Cafe would be one of the area's new anchor tenants.
"We saw the growth potential that would be there," Teruya said. "My dad did, anyway."
New Eagle Cafe represents the best of "nostalgic and old Hawai'i restaurants," said city Councilman Donovan Dela Cruz, who co-authored the book, "The Puka Guide: Oahu's Hole-In-The-Wall Restaurants."
"A lot of the original workers are still there," Dela Cruz said. "They've seen generations of customers come and go. These types of places are slowly disappearing. They all help define local culture."
The 3,600 square-foot restaurant can seat 140 people, has 30 employees and stays busy despite hard times in Hawai'i.
"We had Home Depot, Consolidated Theater and Costco come in," said Teruya. "It's been very good to us."
On Nov. 2, 1999, a copying machine repairman named Byran Uyesugi opened fire in the Xerox building next to the New Eagle Cafe and killed seven of his co-workers. Teruya gave up the restaurant to Honolulu police officers and detectives who conducted interviews and coordinated the investigation.
The restaurant was a favorite of Xerox employees and closed for the start of Uyesugi's trial. Teruya even offered to serve lunches to the jurors, but the judge said no.
"You look out the window (of the restaurant) and there's the building," Teruya said. "I was concerned customers might not come in the next day. We were fortunate that they came back."
About three years ago, Teruya expanded the menu to seafood — steamed, fried, stir-fried — to include crab, shrimp, clams and lobster. In a new restaurant, Teruya wants to have an even bigger area for baked goods and seafood. He also wants a bigger operation so people can pick up a full dinner to take home after work.
Teruya, 40, said he's not ready to give up finding a new home for his family's restaurant. And he's not worried about the future.
"Our time here has come and it's time to move on," Teruya said. "We've already had all of the luck we need. My parents are still alive. We've survived road construction on Nimitz, the Xerox shooting, the worst mass murder in Hawai'i history, and the customers still keep coming. We're able to succeed through them."
When the New Eagle Cafe finds a new home, Dela Cruz wants to be told.
"Hopefully," he said, "I'll be one of the first ones in there to eat."
Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.
