‘ELE‘ELE — Kumu Hula Troy Hinano Lazaro of Ka Pa Hula o Hinano halau said everyone has their favorite, on Saturday during the blessing and ribbon cutting of the McDonald’s restaurant in the ‘Ele‘ele Shopping Center.
‘ELE‘ELE — Kumu Hula Troy Hinano Lazaro of Ka Pa Hula o Hinano halau said everyone has their favorite, on Saturday during the blessing and ribbon cutting of the McDonald’s restaurant in the ‘Ele‘ele Shopping Center.
The halau performers were tasked with part of the blessing by Kahu Kordell Kekoa, the descendant of the kahu who officiated at the original groundbreaking of the McDonald’s restaurnt, to bless the portions of the restaurant of their choosing.
Cheers of “Chee-hoo,” and honking horns from cars passing on Kaumuali‘i Highway broke the Saturday morning air from motorists stopped at the traffic light at the Waialo Road intersection, as they checked out the crowd of more than a hundred people gathered for the blessing and ribbon cutting.
“We don’t have the firecrackers for a Chinese blessing,” said Kekoa. “But we have the honking horns.”
Guests included McDonald’s representatives from across the state, including Maui and Hawai‘i Island McDonald’s, as well as Kekoa and performers of the lion dance that was on the agenda for the “private party.”
Norman and Mabel Hashisaka of the ‘Ele‘ele Shopping Center were treated to a McDonald’s breakfast prepared by the employees, who were anxious to start using the new equipment that was part of the renovation work that started in May and completed with the blessing.
Brandon Yoshimoto, who along with Darleen Chung own the McDonald’s franchise on Kaua‘i, said the newly renovated restaurant is still waiting on one more permit to clear before they are able to service customers. “We had to do the blessing,” Chung said. “I was getting tired telling people, ‘I don’t know’ when they asked me when we were going to open.”
