With plenty of community support and hard work, Pele’s Kitchen in Pahoa has reopened 78 days after a structure fire.
The Pahoa breakfast spot was forced to close after a fire broke out on March 19 and damaged the restaurant located at 15-2923 Pahoa Village Rd.
Crews from the Hawaii Fire Department found the fire to be contained to the back 25-foot by 20-foot attached storage area and were able to extinguished it.
While the burn damage only affected the back storage, the kitchen and dining room were affected by damage from the heat as well as discoloration and a lingering odor from the smoke.
“The day after the fire, our Pahoa community rallied around to volunteer in any way we needed to help us. There was an amazing amount of community support,” said co-owner Stephen Yundt. “We actually had more volunteers than the work that needed to be done.”
A volunteer used their own excavator and dump truck to remove debris from the burned storage area while others helped move six refrigerators and three freezers. A local plumber relocated the water heater and checked the water system for any issues.
Even though they had help from neighbors and supporters, owners Stephen and Casey Yundt were still daunted by the cost of reopening, especially after they were denied commercial property insurance renewal in February.
The father-son duo decided to open a recovery fund at the Bank of Hawaii to help get the restaurant into operating standards as quickly as possible. Restoring the electrical system was the hardest part of reopening the restaurant, according to Stephen Yundt.
The Yundts hired Engineering Partners of Hilo to design a new electrical system, for which they received an emergency electric-only permit.
After it was completed, all they had to do was wait for Hawaiian Electric to come out for a final inspection.
Once the electrical upgrade was completed and approved, Pele’s Kitchen was free to open again. Patrons can now dine in for breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to noon every day.
“Mahalos to the entire East Hawaii community for the overwhelming donations of time and cash for this needed renovation,” Stephen Yundt said. “Special Mahalos to our Pahoa community for rallying around us, especially our patrons for all the volunteer help that it took to restore our business.”
There will be an official grand opening and traditional blessing at the Pahoa restaurant beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 15.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com
