Restaurant founder and matriarch. Suteko Kitada and her husband Takeshi, opened shop in 1946, and little has changed at Kitada's Kau Kau Korner since then. The same plantation era beige-and-green colors, the same cement floors, the original benches and tables, and a mostly unchanged menu. Even the hours - 6:00 AM to 1:30 PM, closed Sundays - are from another time. Mrs. Kitada was kind to most everybody, and had a reputation for jokingly flirting with male customers, of all ages. Hawaiian comedian Frank DeLima was so amused with the funky restaurant that he made a yearly visit to sing to her in Japanese. Former mayor Hannibal Tavares was an emcee at her 80th birthday party at the Maui Beach Hotel. That event attracted hundreds of her friends and loyal customers. In 1992, Takeshi Kitada died, and Suteko had a stroke a year later. Although her daughter Ethel Hotema and her son Wilfred had already taken over most of the cooking, a wheelchair-bound Mrs. Kitada insisted on coming to the cafe every morning so that she could continue to hold court and greet everyone.
Restaurant founder and matriarch. Suteko Kitada and her husband Takeshi, opened shop in 1946, and little has changed at Kitada's Kau Kau Korner since then. The same plantation era beige-and-green colors, the same cement floors, the original benches and tables, and a mostly unchanged menu. Even the hours - 6:00 AM to 1:30 PM, closed Sundays - are from another time. Mrs. Kitada was kind to most everybody, and had a reputation for jokingly flirting with male customers, of all ages. Hawaiian comedian Frank DeLima was so amused with the funky restaurant that he made a yearly visit to sing to her in Japanese. Former mayor Hannibal Tavares was an emcee at her 80th birthday party at the Maui Beach Hotel. That event attracted hundreds of her friends and loyal customers. In 1992, Takeshi Kitada died, and Suteko had a stroke a year later. Although her daughter Ethel Hotema and her son Wilfred had already taken over most of the cooking, a wheelchair-bound Mrs. Kitada insisted on coming to the cafe every morning so that she could continue to hold court and greet everyone.
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See more Kitada or Matsushima memorials in:
- Maui Memorial Park Kitada or Matsushima
- Wailuku Kitada or Matsushima
- Maui County Kitada or Matsushima
- Hawaii Kitada or Matsushima
- USA Kitada or Matsushima
- Find a Grave Kitada or Matsushima
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