Historic Natsunoya Tea House back in business, set to reopen Wednesday

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Two months have passed since an overnight fire damaged a portion of the historic Natsunoya Tea House. On Monday, the owner announced the popular spot is set to reopen on Wednesday, May 1.

Since the closing of Natsunoya in late February, owner Laurence Fujiwara and community members have been working to restore the restaurant before graduation season and summer.

“It was pretty tough. It’s not as tough as COVID time, but it was tough,” Fujiwara explained. “No one got hurt, and we’re back to normal so hopefully we’ll be better Natsunoya 2.0.”

Reports said Natsunoya Tea House was repainted and a new fire-resistant roof was installed. The restaurant also received new carpet, chairs and more.

According to HFD, the fire originated between the back of the restaurant and a two-story residence.

Alewa Heights neighbors made the 911 call around 2:15 a.m. on Feb. 24. Reports said it took about 30 minutes to extinguish the flames.

“It was so fast, unbelievably fast,” said resident Beverly Bernal-Masuda. “It was a very scary experience.”

HFD marked the cause of the fire as undetermined and has yet to determine the point of origin and ignition source.

Natsunoya is already booked up for this weekend and for Mother’s Day.