PBN – September 11, 2026 – Kauai restaurants target Sunday for reopening after Hurricane Lowell strips island of power

Just days after Hurricane Lowell stripped Kauai of 90% of all power, many
restaurants on the island are hoping to return to business on Sunday.

“Everybody’s kind of using Sept. 13 as maybe the day that they’re hoping things
can start getting back to normal, according to what Kauai [Island Utility
Cooperative] is saying,” said Sheryl Matsuoka, president and CEO of Hawaii
Restaurant Association. Even restaurants that weren’t directly affected by the
flooding were still impacted. “They weren’t damaged, but they are still without
power,” she said.

Many restaurants across the island hope to return to normal operations soon, but
some face a longer road to recovery. Kilohana Plantation, located in Lihue on the
island’s east side, suffered serious damage from the hurricane.

“It’s a really tourist area, and (Kilohana Plantation) has no idea when it can
reopen because there’s so much damage,” Matsuoka said.

Hurricane Lowell’s fallout marks yet another setback for an industry that has had
little room to breathe this year. Across the state, Hawaii’s restaurant sector has
spent much of the past year navigating a series of crises.

“We feed people. We take care of our communities, and when there’s a crisis, we
show up,” Matsuoka said. “Restaurants aren’t just business. They’ re part of the
community’s infrastructure. When there is a crisis, restaurants don’t think about,
‘Oh my god, when am I going to be able to open my doors and start making
money?’ They’re thinking about how can we feed the community.”

Despite the rough year of weather, Matsuoka said that she isn’t too worried about
what it could mean for the tourism industry. She said it’s important to remember
that Hawaii is bigger than just one island.

“The biggest PR challenge is making sure people understand that Hawaii is just
not one destination,” Matsuoka said. “We don’t want the storm story to become
the ‘Hawaii is closed’ story.”