For a stretch of years, downtown Hilo ran on a predictable summer script. Saturday belonged to the farmers market. Sunday belonged to the lanai. The nights in between belonged to whoever felt like driving somewhere. If you wanted a Tuesday out, you drove to Kona or you stayed home.
That script changed this spring. The old Hilo Town Tavern space on Keawe Street reopened in April as Hale Kanikapila, and the ripple has done something the block hasn't had in a while: given weeknights a reason to exist. This piece is about the new rhythm that reopening created, and how the rest of downtown, from Mamo Street to Kamehameha Avenue, now fits around it.
What Reopened on Keawe Street
Four owners, Thom Kerns, Jayne Kerns, Jen Grieco, and Fal Allen, took over the shuttered tavern last December and spent four months clearing it out.
