Leaks plugged at old-time tiki bar
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
La Mariana Restaurant & Bar, the last of the old-time Honolulu tiki bars, may have a new lease on life after a five-year, $175,000 project to hook into a city sewage line was completed last week.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
Annette Nahinu, who founded and has run the place for nearly half a century, said her lease had less than 10 years left and she faced closure if she couldn't find a way to replace the leak-prone, decades-old septic and leech system.
A favorite refuge for lovers of Polynesian kitsch, La Mariana Restaurant & Bar on Sand Island recently replaced its decades-old septic system with a $175,000 project to hook into a city sewer line.
At least twice, sewage overflowed from the septic system when the area flooded. The state Department of Health fined the restaurant $15,000 for one spill, Nahinu said.
With the new sewer hook-up in place, Nahinu will start working to secure a new long-term lease from the state to make sure that the customers who flock to La Mariana for its South Seas kitsch and singing by the piano have a place to come to.
"I was promised if I put in the sewer line, they give me an extension of lease," said Nahinu, 88. "The place isn't worth much with only eight or 10 years left on lease. I want 30 more years."
La Mariana is the last survivor of an era of open-air Waikiki clubs with palm frond roofs, tinny piano lounges and torch-lit entries. Sitting on the edge of Ke'ehi Lagoon, La Mariana is filled with artifacts that have fallen victim to tourism's changing tastes.
When the Tahitian Lanai closed several years ago, many of the piano bar's regulars took up stools at La Mariana, joining the rattan chairs from Don the Beachcomber's, the balloon-fish chandeliers from Trader Vic's and other remnants of the long-gone tiki nightclubs.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
La Mariana has a loyal following of customers who rave about the tiki-era decor, bamboo-lined bathrooms and electric waterfall in the dining room. Every Friday night, patrons file in to sing by the piano player who once drew them in at the Tahitian Lanai.
The restaurant formerly relied on two septic tanks, which overflowed when the area flooded. The state fined La Mariana $15,000 in one incident, says owner Annette Nahinu.
Dozens of businesses in the light-industrial area have individual wastewater systems, including cesspools, septic tanks and portable lavatories.
The Health Department has grandfathered in existing sewer systems, but no longer approves the installation of cesspools because of the threat to groundwater, only 3 to 7 feet below ground.
The state Department of Transportation has long-range plans (five to 10 years) to develop 20 acres adjacent to La Mariana for an industrial park, and will connect tenants to nearby city sewer lines. But those plans don't help Nahinu.
Nahinu, who has run the restaurant with an 80-slip marina since the 1950s, was told she had to connect to the line or close down, because her property, at 48 feet wide, was too narrow for the existing septic system and more spills were likely.
She solicited bids for the project, and in 1998 selected Gray Hong Bills Nojima and Associates for the job.
David Bills, now owner of Bills Engineering, said they needed to dig up the street and place a 4-inch force main along a 1,300-foot route to reach the nearest city sewer line on Pahounui Drive. That was the easy part. The line would have to cross several properties, and each owner had requirements to be met.
Bills said the state Harbors Division had to be persuaded to allow an easement for the line. They needed permission to cross property leased by Ameron Hawai'i, and landowner Damon Estate had its own requirements. Then the city had to be persuaded to let the restaurant connect to the sewer line.
"When I first started looking at it, getting across all those hurdles, I was pretty dim on getting those negotiations done," Bills said. "I look back on it and say, how did we ever do it? In the long run, everybody was very cooperative.
"It would be unfortunate to put a very functional operation out of business because we couldn't find a sewer connection."
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.
