Kenny’s eatery to close

Kenny’s Burgerhouse at the Kamehamaeha Shopping Center in Kalihi will serve its last sandwich tomorrow, after 40 years in operation. The building will be razed to make way for McDonald’s, which is expected to open its 79th Hawaii restaurant at the location.

John Fujieki Jr., whose father helped establish the eatery in 1960, told the Star-Bulletin that the coffee house at the other end of the shopping center will remain open, and is in fact scheduled for a major renovation next year.

The Kenny’s locations are named for Kenneth K. Kaneshiro, who partnered with Herbert Souza and John Fujieki Sr. in the 1960s to build them. After the burger house got going, Kaneshiro moved his downtown Kenny’s Fountain into Kalihi, and it was renamed to Kenny’s Coffee House and Restaurant in 1965.

John Fujieki Sr., who died last year, also founded Star Markets.