Happier Days Coming For Neighbors Of Collapsed ‘So Stink’ Dim Sum Restaurant

A clean-up crew began removing spoiled food from Kaimukī’s Happy Days restaurant on Tuesday, four days after Civil Beat reported how a structural collapse had turned the popular dim sum eatery into a crumbled den, spreading a rancid smell through the neighborhood and affecting local businesses.

After the restaurant's ceiling caved in on diners last month, sending one kūpuna to the hospital, the building was deemed unsafe and cordoned off with police tape. Uneaten food and ingredients were left to decompose, attracting flies and emitting a foul stench. The property owner told Civil Beat last week that she was struggling to address the matter through insurance. 

State health department officials initially deflected responsibility but Tuesday issued a statement saying they had gotten involved. The Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting, which had originally told the building owner no one could enter the structure because it was a safety risk, clarified that "authorized agents" could go inside for the specific purpose of removing spoiled food — which a professional cleaning crew has started doing.

The “flat-roof kitchen area, located to the rear of the property, is safe to enter for limited cleanup activities,” the permitting agency said in a press release.

“We recognize the concerns the surrounding community has raised about the conditions at the property, including the odor,” DPP Director Dawn Takeuchi Apuna said in a statement. “We have worked to identify a safe way to address those conditions and move the necessary cleanup forward.”

Last week, health officials said they couldn’t take action because the state only regulates restaurants that are in operation, and Happy Days had closed. But on Tuesday, the agency said its vector control workers were on site to “provide recommendations and ensure rodent and pest harborages were removed.” Health department staff will continue to monitor the situation and provide oversight and guidance as the kitchen is cleaned out, according to its press release. 

The cleaning crew expects to be finished by Oct. 2. 

“This is awesome news,” said Alicia Young, who lives nearby. She previously called the smell coming from Happy Days, "so stink."

By Tuesday afternoon, Happy Days Chinese Seafood Restaurant was completely fenced off at the front, with yellow caution tape and traffic cones crowding its entrance. A dim sum cart was still standing upright near the entrance, while a row of wilted plants lined the windows. A portion of the 11th Avenue sidewalk between Waiʻalae and Harding was also closed off, with poles supporting the restaurant wall. Plastic garbage bags, which had been hanging off the back window in recent days, had been re-taped shut. 

Jenny Le, owner of J.Le Beauty Salon, a nail parlor whose main entryway faces the restaurant's back door, said she saw a few people wearing masks stop by earlier in the afternoon. 

When they swung open the restaurant door, which she hadn’t seen open since the collapse, the smell penetrated her salon – even with the doors closed and air conditioner on. 

“I was so happy when I saw them,” Le said, adding that she didn’t see anyone carrying cleaning supplies. She said her clients numbers have dwindled in the past few weeks. 

“If the client knows this area is so smelly, why would they come?” Le said. “Customers don’t want to relax in a place that is so stinky.” 

“We understand the impact this situation has had on the Kaimukī community, particularly for nearby residents and businesses who have been affected by the conditions at the restaurant,” Kenneth Fink, director of the health department, said in a statement, adding that “(t)he department continues to work closely with our partners at DPP and the responsible parties to find a solution as quickly and safely as possible.”

The property owner has not yet determined whether to repair or demolish the structure, according to state and city officials. 

“I wouldn’t necessarily say that I’m hopeful,” said Young, the neighborhood resident, “but I’m hoping that they stay true to their word and clean it out.”