If all goes well, Windward Mall will welcome an International House of Pancakes and a Ruby Tuesday's restaurant sometime around late March or early April, giving new life to restaurantdeprived Kane'ohe.

The new restaurants plan to sit next to one another on the ground floor of the mall, near Macy's.

"I don't consider them (Ruby Tuesday's) competition," said Rennie West, who hopes to open her IHOP by the end of March. "I consider them somebody who can complement my restaurant, and I can complement them. If anything, we can help each other out. ... That type of family restaurant is desperately needed in that area. In Kane'ohe, there's not that many places to go to."

West, the mother of 2004 American Idol finalist Camile Velasco, hoped to open her third Hawai'i IHOP in October until rising construction costs caused her to delay construction. The 5,411-square-foot site has been gutted and West hopes to start construction by the end of the year.

West took over her first IHOP in Kihei, Maui, in 1997 and closed it in 2000. In 1999, she opened a new restaurant in Maui Mall, where her four children have worked, including 20-year-old Velasco.

West's youngest child, Divina, age 9, sometimes runs the cash register and even trains new cashiers.

The resumption of West's construction schedule — along with Ruby's Tuesday's plans — was welcomed news for Jonathan Kim, Windward Mall's general manager.

"Woooo-wee," Kim said. "Sounds good. Hopefully they'll be open a lot sooner than that. It's really, really exciting. It's a great opportunity for the mall and for the public here on the Windward side. You don't have too many sit-down restaurants here in Kane'ohe."

The 5,666-square-foot Windward Mall site will be the third Ruby Tuesday's on O'ahu.

Ted Davenport, Ruby Tuesday's principal owner, hopes to open in late March or early to mid-April, followed by a fourth restaurant in Moanalua Shopping Center by early August.

Ruby Tuesday's opened in 2003 in the Town Center of Mililani and in 2004 at Ala Moana Center.

"Our product has been well received in Hawai'i," Davenport said. "Everybody's asking us to come out to their areas. Our concept of family dining is well accepted. We're finding on the comment cards that people say we have a lot of value for the food."

Rather than look at IHOP as competition, Davenport said, "Sometimes restaurants thrive on other restaurants. It drives energy."

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.