Peleʻs Kitchen fire

[kalianna]

Burned in a storage unit after hours.  Iʻm getting Luquinʻs deja vu all over again.  Sign says closed for repairs.  Very unfortunate.  Great place.

[HiloJulie]

By the sounds of it, things weren't going so well before the fire........

https://www.kitv.com/news/fire-erupts-in...76d24.html

Its ashamed society has devolved into shooting guns into a restaurant's windows.

And how is it legal for ANY business to operate when the insurance is cancelled?

At any event, just one more nice thing Pahoa had that now is turned to $#&^.

[terracore]

Looks like they may never reopen due to "Lahaina fires":

Fire forces closure of popular Pahoa eatery Pele’s Kitchen
By KELSEY WALLING
Hawaii Tribune-Herald |
Thursday, 3/21/2024, 12:05 a.m.

Pele’s Kitchen, a popular Pahoa breakfast spot, has closed indefinitely after a fire damaged the restaurant Tuesday. The Hawaii Fire Department and the Hawaii Police Department responded to a structure fire at Pele’s Kitchen, located at 15-2923 Pahoa Village Rd., with the first unit responding at 8:41 p.m. Tuesday night.

When they arrived on scene, crews found the fire was contained to the restaurant’s 25-foot by 20-foot attached storage area and was 75% involved in flames, according to HFD. Firefighters from three engine companies attacked the fire, and a tanker also responded to supply additional water and manpower.

Police closed Pahoa Village Road until the fire was extinguished. No one was found in the structure at the time of the fire, and there were no injuries reported. The cause of the fire is currently undetermined, and fire inspectors arrived on the scene to begin an investigation, according to HFD.

Owners Stephen and Casey Yundt spent Wednesday morning clearing out some salvageable items and talking with community members after a stressful night. Many residents stopped to help and talk to the Yundts about the fire, and visitors stopped in front of the restaurant only to find it closed.

Although the fire did not cause much burn damage to the kitchen and restaurant seating area, the Yundts don’t foresee reopening anytime soon due to a lack of insurance coverage.
“The damage is going to cost us at least $100,000, because we don’t have insurance,” Stephen Yundt said. “Ever since the Lahaina fire, we lost our insurance and haven’t found anyone willing to insure.”

According to Amedeo Markoff, president of Mainstreet Pahoa, many businesses within Lava Zones 1 and 2 have a hard time finding or keeping commercial property insurance. “There are some serious issues with insurance in general. About 3,000 homes in Lava Zones 1 and 2 recently lost coverage,” Markoff said. “Our local politicians and our state representatives have been working hard, but so far the state has not responded in any meaningful way.”

Pele’s Kitchen survived the economic hardships caused by the 2018 Kilauea eruption and the COVID-19 pandemic, and has remained has a fan-favorite spot for its farm-to-table breakfast menu. Stephen Yundt opened the restaurant in Pahoa in 2013 and has worked to only serve fresh, organic and local food, much of it coming from his farm, Puna Gold Estate.

“This is really sad, because it has really become a central part of downtown,” Stephen Yundt said. “I don’t really know what comes next.” Pele’s Kitchen is located across the street from the former Luquin’s Mexican Restaurant and historic Akebono Theatre, which were gutted by a fire that shocked the community in January 2017.

“This is kind of bringing some PTSD from the Luquin’s fire that burnt down the business, which was the epicenter of town. This time it happened across the street,” Markoff said. “A lot of businesses are concerned, because it harkens back to that fire as it changed the whole town.”

Casey Yundt took over daily operations of Pele’s Kitchen since 2020 and has been making payments to fully purchase the building that has become iconic to Main Street.
The building is covered in colorful paintings and local art created by the owners, employees, community members and students from Pahoa schools.

“The restaurants and stores on Main Street are the backbone of the community in Pahoa, and there is a lot of strain on them,” Markoff said. “It’s important to remember that without theses businesses, we’ll have less services, longer commutes and increased costs for an already socio-economically disadvantaged area.”

The Yundts ask community members and supporters to keep their eyes out for a GoFundMe page that will be used to repair and reopen the popular eatery.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/202...s-kitchen/

[leilanidude]

And how is it legal for ANY business to operate when the insurance is cancelled?
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There is not any legal requirement for a business to have insurance, especially for property losses.

[HiloJulie]

And how is it legal for ANY business to operate when the insurance is cancelled?
--------
There is not any legal requirement for a business to have insurance, especially for property losses.

That's not necessarily true. Maybe a restaurant may not be legally required to have property insurance, there are various types of insurance requirements that various types of businesses are required to have.

[terracore]

When we ran a retail business we didn't have any loss insurance. Margins were too thin to have another insurance bill. The landlord had their own insurance that covered their interests- we had liability coverage only. I believe through the same company we were buying workers compensation insurance through. The liability insurance wasn't super expensive so long as it never got used.

[Punatang]

The liability insurance wasn't super expensive so long as it never got used.

LOL that reminded me of a song by The Clash.  

Number three
You have the right to free speech

As long as you're not
Dumb enough to actually try it

[leilanidude]

The liability insurance wasn't super expensive so long as it never got used.
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On a new business, they have no real way to determine your potential losses, so they "make up" a premium amount for the first year. At the end of the year, when you renew, they change the rate based upon whether you filed any claims or not. This works the same for unemployment compensation insurance and workmens comp. The second year premium can really jump.