Kauai Pasta not just noodling around
When Russell Stokes told his wife Karolyn that he wanted to open a second Kauai Pasta restaurant in Lihu‘e, she hesitated.
“I’m tired,” she said.
The couple already helms Kauai Pasta in Kapa‘a, which opened in 2004, and Kauai Cuisine, a catering business opened in 2002 that specializes in food for high-end weddings and events.
Stokes, 29, does bookkeeping for both businesses, with the restaurant bringing in about $60,000 in revenues each month, she said. She was looking forward to a two-month break in Europe.
Instead the couple leased the old e.b.’s Eats storefront on Kuhio Highway, revamped the interior and hung a Kauai Pasta banner in the window.
“Everything just fell into place,” Stokes said last Friday.
White chef coats piled on a table in the front window indicate one of the biggest boons for the restaurateurs.
“We found 20 employees in less than a week,” Stokes said. She expects to hire five more, she said.
Her brother-in-law Cory Stokes, an eight-year veteran of the Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i, signed on as executive sous chef, a move she says will allow him to spend more time with his five children.
The couple also hired Jeffrey Aguinaldo as executive sous chef. He comes from Roy’s Po‘ipu Bar and Grill, where he also worked as executive sous chef, Stokes said.
The biggest change will be the addition of a lunch menu. The Kapa‘a location only serves dinner.
Otherwise, the fare offered at the two restaurants will be similar, Stokes said. The menus feature pasta with homemade sauces. The new location will offer some new items, including entree-sized salads, sandwiches, manicotti, real tiramisu and more specials, Stokes said.
She said the Kapa‘a restaurant attracts a local clientele, and she expects the same for the new location.
“We design the menu for that,” she said. “Good food, big portions for a reasonable price.”
The couple still has a lot of work to do, but with new tables in the front window and chairs stacked in front of coolers, the restaurant is less than two weeks from completion.
The doors will open for lunch at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, August 14.
Stokes said customers can bring their own wine and beer until the restaurant obtains a license to sell alcohol.
“I’m tired,” she said.
The couple already helms Kauai Pasta in Kapa‘a, which opened in 2004, and Kauai Cuisine, a catering business opened in 2002 that specializes in food for high-end weddings and events.
Stokes, 29, does bookkeeping for both businesses, with the restaurant bringing in about $60,000 in revenues each month, she said. She was looking forward to a two-month break in Europe.
Instead the couple leased the old e.b.’s Eats storefront on Kuhio Highway, revamped the interior and hung a Kauai Pasta banner in the window.
“Everything just fell into place,” Stokes said last Friday.
White chef coats piled on a table in the front window indicate one of the biggest boons for the restaurateurs.
“We found 20 employees in less than a week,” Stokes said. She expects to hire five more, she said.
Her brother-in-law Cory Stokes, an eight-year veteran of the Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i, signed on as executive sous chef, a move she says will allow him to spend more time with his five children.
The couple also hired Jeffrey Aguinaldo as executive sous chef. He comes from Roy’s Po‘ipu Bar and Grill, where he also worked as executive sous chef, Stokes said.
The biggest change will be the addition of a lunch menu. The Kapa‘a location only serves dinner.
Otherwise, the fare offered at the two restaurants will be similar, Stokes said. The menus feature pasta with homemade sauces. The new location will offer some new items, including entree-sized salads, sandwiches, manicotti, real tiramisu and more specials, Stokes said.
She said the Kapa‘a restaurant attracts a local clientele, and she expects the same for the new location.
“We design the menu for that,” she said. “Good food, big portions for a reasonable price.”
The couple still has a lot of work to do, but with new tables in the front window and chairs stacked in front of coolers, the restaurant is less than two weeks from completion.
The doors will open for lunch at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, August 14.
Stokes said customers can bring their own wine and beer until the restaurant obtains a license to sell alcohol.
posted by ams at 3:27 PM
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