Eastside Grill closes doors ‘indefinitely’
Star-Bulletin file
Of all the watering holes in the University/Puck’s Alley neighborhood, Eastside Grill was known as the spot for University of Hawaii sports fans of all ages.
As of this week, Warrior/Wahine/Rainbow fans will have to look elsewhere to watch their teams play on pay-per-view. And any post-game celebrations will have to move to The Varsity or Red Lion University.
Following months of declining sales, Eastside Grill shut its doors this week and posted signs that announced it was “closed indefinitely.” The move coincided with a posting on Craigslist that advertises the bar for sale.
I got a couple of e-mails about this earlier in the week, but wasn’t able to get down there to confirm it before KGMB broke the story yesterday.
When I stopped by Puck’s Alley last night, the bar’s windows were covered and all identifying signage had been removed. It didn’t look like a business that intended to re-open under the same name.
Here’s what the signs said:
“To Our Loyal Customers,
Eastside Bar and Grill is closed indefinitely.
Mahalo Nui for your patronage.”
Having made a number of visits here over the last few months, I could tell something like this was going to happen. It was pretty obvious ever since former owner Robbie Acoba announced he was turning over day-to-day operations to new management. He later sold his share of the business and plans to eventually start another bar/restaurant elsewhere.
Too bad. Eastside Grill used to have the best food, lots of TVs, a good-looking staff and – most importantly – air conditioning.
Anyone want to open their own business? It’ll only cost you 100 big ones to get in.
November 28th, 2008 at 9:57 am
WOW!! I left the island in 2007 and returned at the beginning of this month to find that a lot of my favorite spots were gone, or under new management, which I find, still means gone. Just a couple:
Cellars
Pipeline Cafe (no more hiphop???)
And now Eastside Grill….wow.
As a promoter, artist, and general partygoer, there are only a few places, other than the spots I promote that I like to go to, just for relaxation. I’ve never been a fan of the fast-food style of Waikiki’s nightclubs, and probably never will be. I’ve always enjoyed going places where the staff knows my name, knows what I like to drink or eat, and treats me with respect.
I’ve lived on this island for over 16 years, and I never thought I’d see the day that Eastside Grill would close.
But hey, there’s always King Street Cafe!
November 29th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
And Anna Bannana’s only has about 16 months left on their FORTY YEAR lease!!
November 30th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Sorry to see the place go. Even if they were competition I used to enjoy going there in the past. They were one of the places we looked at when we were deciding what we needed to do at Champions Sports Bar. Where are all those poor Steeler fans going now? They used to get the primo big screen in that place.
November 30th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
It’s a sad time, but, I’ve heard for a while that Robbie was having money problems. Too bad it took down the new partners, too.
Guess I’ll have to hang out at OnStage, it’s a cool, friendly atmosphere with the best pool tables and great live music. Anyone up for a game?
December 3rd, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Robbie was a great owner and manager. So what if he had money problems?! Dont you? The new partners took themselves down! If you seen when the new owners’ friends came by then you would know where all the money was going. While dining there, Ive seen GREAT employees come and go. Management just didnt know how to run things! They wouldnt know even if it jumped up and bit them in the ASS!!! Since Robbie was no longer running ESG, I knew it was only a matter of months before this happend!
January 21st, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Nothing seems to be easier than seeing someone whom you can help but not helping.
I suggest we start giving it a try. Give love to the ones that need it.
God will appreciate it.