Fishermans Wharf: The Fishermen, Sampan Inn, and Coral Tuna Cannery

Fisherman’s Wharf “on the wharf at Kewalo Basin” was not only an icon, it felt like seeing an old friend. Honolulu had really iconic places like Fisherman’s wharf, the ward warehouse, the farmers market, the original international marketplace, the giant pineapple. It was one of the most iconic of Spencecliff owned businesses.

The waitresses' bartenders and cocktail waitresses were such good fun people to be with a pleasant place to hang out at. Inside there were split tables with the wall between tables about 3 inches tall. The place was popular and was another Spencecliff restaurant where people were having escargot with full service, shells, pliers, but with the Aloha spirit alive in there customers would share. There was one lad who saw a lady who kept on eyeing out his table and he noticed that she was actually staring at the snails, she was just on the next table over and kept staring, so he offered her a snail, and the waitress remembers that she never saw someone leave so quickly. Inside customers would be sitting next to a window watching the fishing boats come in with their catch with the sounds of the waterfront. 

Seafood Grotto downstairs and Captain's Bridge upstairs.

There would be kids fishing for bait the ballyhoo fish, papio, awa aua, and more by the end of the pier with little plastic flies they got from their traps they would make. There was more than enough food for the fish to eat, because people would always be feeding them to make sure their numbers were intact by throwing all their old bread in the water. Whatever they didn’t use for bait for the small fish they would fry them whole and call them “Little Fryers”. A few filipino men would fish for balloon fish to sell to at the fish market with okinawan families and filipino families purchasing them. There were a lot of fish to go around back then. When the parents took their kids they would often scarf down their great hamburger steak. Parents who knew the fishermen would keep checking to see if a friend’s sampan returned, so they could join the table to eat and chat. If it was after dinner there were those who would walk across to the boat as it was tied up and the friends of customers would sell their friends choice fish for their family to prepare in an assortment of ways. One customer remembers that these would be their “Aloha Captains” and one of them was called “Uncle Captain Aloha”. The restaurant workers would let the kids in so they could use the bathroom, and sometimes give them pupus to snack on like saltine crackers, a shrimp cocktail, and one time some fish and fries!

The fishing charters would come back to Kewalo Basin Harbor and when they would come to anchor the people on them were sitting In the hot sun all day, so stopping by the restaurant they could have a booth with a cold drink and pupus made it perfect! Drinking The Fisherman’s Wharf special drink and listening to Sonny Chillingsworth sing all night would make the time go by at the Bar. Really radical good bar fights where sometimes one group of fishermen would be fighting the naval officers who were super wasted. 

Clifton Stokes Weaver had his spot and that was the Fisherman's Wharf as his place of pride. It had all sorts of customers, but the famous customers were: Ray Milland, Sonny and Cher, Lucky Luck and Daniel Boone were regulars, it was one of Duke Kahanamoku’s favorites. The ever entertaining Al Waterson would showcase singers there and even take the stage himself as well as be the emcee. Many international, national and local celebrities would perform to go and have a grand time. Great talent was discovered there. 

The building had elements of mid century and nautical themes and reminded people of a ship with its canted windows with some people wondering if it was a floating restaurant, but it was built on the lot. The Captain statue at the front door was pretty tall and had such a bulbous nose then they had that hard-hat dive suit near the door. There were drink cups that were ceramic and were part of the many collector cups people could buy. The ones for Fisherman's Wharf were: Bamboo shaped. The glass in the upstairs bar was all Tiffany.

There was no place better for the Mahi Mahi Steak where it was grilled, fried, cioppino dipped mahi sandwich, or with scampi cream, and if that was enough their specialty was Mahi Mahi en Papillote. The Baked Avocado that was stuffed with lumps of crab meat were to die for and it had a nice appearance too or one of the specials mixed with lobster thermidor. The Broiled Scallops with Cioppino Fisherman's Soup or Clam Chowder with a shot of Sherry would be good to start the meal with. There was one dish where the lobster would be sticking out of a coconut like it was in a jacuzzi and it had fresh coconut milk. They used to serve their famous Abalone Steaks, the Turtle Steak, Turtle Soup, the Crab Chowder, and the Crab Soup, and that was all before the rising costs and restrictions made it something that people couldn’t afford or find. For those coming in for lunch it wouldn’t be uncommon to go for the Crab n bacon on toast sandwich, Crab Cakes, or Rainbow Trout with lemon shoyu sauce. It was really a sight to see the Jumbo prawns clam chowder, the stacked King Crab legs, or when they hauled the whole fish into the kitchen. 

People knew there was going to be good food there like the oysters and shrimp tempura. They also remember the Captains Platter, Seafood Newburg, Frogs Legs, Rice Pilaf, Chicken Curry, and Avocado Crab Au Gratin. 

The Unique Salad dressings there really did it for some customers who would go back just for the dressing.

Whatever was left over the employees used to pack up to take home to feed families, because the restaurant was about putting food on the table for them. 

The Huge fish tank was not always so large as it grew over the years and people kept on talking about it. There are many stories about the fish tank. They had a Black Piranha in a small tank in the entryway that was getting way too big, it couldn't turn around, so it just sat in one spot waiting to be fed. There was some wasteful customers, so the staff would feed it the leftovers and it got pretty fat.

Tommy Akana who owned most if not all boats there at the wharf was always at the Fisherman’s Wharf bar every night as a regular. Beers and sniffers of Crown Royal were his drinks of choice. He was tall and dark with many ladies thinking he was handsome, he got all the ladies! Maria was a character and she was from Italy and she was the friendliest and loudest of all the waitresses who also sang along with the jukebox too. She would carry our baby so we could eat and she was so nice, she had her local Japanese man waiting for her in Italy where he was stationed and was part of the 442nd or 100th where they would later get married.

The treasure chest full of toys for kids

Uniform

the cap was a white beret with a red fur pompom ball

United Fishing was around the corner by Hawaiian ice company where the sanpan boats would go to do long line fishing in the mornings like the sea queen and Neptune. The Aku Tuna that they caught would be sold at the Fish Auction where they would have tags of the boat that caught it: Nobu Seafood Hawaii was a big buyer back then. Kewalo Basin there was also a restaurant called “Sampan Inn” next to the net house where the fisherman would repaired their nets used to catch bait (nehu) where the captain of the boat “Kilohana” was Herman Reis. Many people would enjoy watching them unloading the big and long frozen tunas that would be thawing out for the assembly line. The clever guy was the one guy with a giant cleaver who would chop off the heads, choppity chop, with one chop he would get the job done. It was about a foot thick and almost two feet long.

There were many things that made the area what it was, such as the "Sampan Inn" that was close as well as the "Coral Tuna Cannery".

Sampan Inn (1951-1968)

“Cordial Friendly Wishes, May good fortune fill your dishes, every day”

Sampan Inn, nicknamed “The Fisherman's Clubhouse” was located 1125 Ala Moana Boulevard and was overlooking Kewalo Basin and was where the sampan fleet docked. It kept on changing under its various incarnations like: Seaside Inn, 7-Seas Cafe, Ship’s Galley, etc, so in a way it's all those places. The pier was close to the end of the dock and it was all open with a rooftop. The Sampann kitchen was against the wall at the end of the structure and was boxed in with plywood. His stove and grill was against a cement wall boxed in with plywood as well on three sides with an outdoors sink that was exposed to the elements. The Tables there had about eight of them with some big and long and some smaller and square. Tuna Boats would just park there and other fishermen would gather around under the roofed area where they would be talking to each other, doing repair work to their ships, mending their nets, and just sharing their knowledge there. 

Great place to get to know the fisherman and they would give people credit just for talking to them with appearances and all. The fishermen would do their deals there and give you deals if you ask them for one, so it was a good way the public would later on learn about the fishermen and how their food was sourced as well as sold. Fishermen used to grumble big time after spending time all day out on the Aku boats or wherever their fishing captain sent them to catch their fish. 

Walter Miyashiro was the original owner

Yasu was the owner who wanted someplace that was not expensive and gave food that would fill you up at the docks and that could also work as a meeting spot for only the fishermen. The menu for that reason was nothing fancy like the other restaurants around town, but were bare bones menus that served volume and quantity to keep costs down. The fishermen is who he cared about and that is who he catered to with a sign saying “Fishermen Only” that would make sure it was to feed the workers and make sure everyone knew one another. He was around 5'4" tall, short, stocky, medium size built guy, on a flat grill where there would be rib steaks about five of them at once together with the onions and cook the steak exactly the way the customers wanted without help in the beginning. 

Their biggest seller at that time was the Steak plate lunches were popular, but the T-bone steak plate lunch was the biggest seller at the restaurant. The 1957 menu started originally with: the simmering Pigs Feet Soup, Hawaii Beef Stew that was kept warm with the rice, Hamburger Steak with the gravy, and always available was hot coffee. Everything started to go crazy when he started his T bone steak special that would be one of the main reasons people would go there for his T bones, always the steaks, it was a meaty place. The steaks were so big, they hung over the side of the plate with the two scoops of rice swimming in the salty meat juice. Other meat options would be: Beef Cutlet with Eggs. 

After a while there were so many people asking it was no longer only for fishermen and anyone could eat there. First was a few outsiders, than more people who herd of the fish and meat steaks, then the tourists started coming for lunch hearing amazing fish steak was there. Yasu had to hire waitresses then enclose the sitting section with coconut leafs, and then another  waitresses, and at times some of the fishermen hanging around would be a make shift waiter. All the fishermen who were there knew him and his commitment to feeding them, so when he would yell to anyone seen hanging around deliver the food to the customers they would get up and do it. It started to become an iconic place and had a whole front of the house staff for it and they even started to sell alcohol with people bringing their Ukulele and just playing at the pier.

The menu would grow to have more options like: Fried Fish Bones that were usually Aku or Big Eye or whatever have, Mahi Mahi Steaks, Aku Steaks, Ahi Steaks, Double crusted banana pie.

McWayne Marine Supply would be nearby with a few youngsters filling scuba tanks with the manager there talking to one of the kids' fathers. Nets were laid out for repair and stored in the sheds there. A Harbor master plan put together for re-development of the bits around where McWaynes was identified as a place for net repair/storage, Sampan inn that was makai of McWaynes. It was also in one of John Wayne’s movie “The Sea Chase” (1955) about Honolulu when he was a boat captain "Rock" Torrey. The sampan “Kilohana” that was featured in the Elvis movie “Blue Hawaii” was docked right across from Sampan Inn.

In 1990, Ben Awana, former Police Sergeant, had bought the restaurant in January with a lease expiration of August 1992. Mike Scarfone who was head of Hawaii Community Development Authority sent the bulldozers as a locked-in deal where they were going to develop a Kewalo Basin Park.

Coral Tuna cannery that started in Hawaii was close too, so close that people would smell it as it was next door and the stench would be drifting into Downtown on days with Kona Winds. The process of canning tuna was amazing, but the odor was not so pleasant. The fish came off the boat ( frozen ) and when it reached the end it was canned, labeled, loaded onto pallets ready to ship to the stores, " still warm! all on the same day. The brand name was Coral Tuna, the fishing boats would come in with their freezers full of frozen tuna with no guts, no fins and no heads it was then placed on conveyors one by one and the conveyors would run through a very hot sauce that would cook and flavor the tuna, then sent to the assembly line where the workers would remove the skin, then the next area would break it into chunks and remove the bones, the next area would break it into smaller chunks then send it to canning and labeling. After that it was all loaded onto pallets then loaded on waiting trucks for delivery to the stores and also shipped by barge to neighbor islands still warm in the can. Bumble Bee would take over later and then be bought out from Castle & Cook.

Performers: Brother Noland, Kalapana and later Mackey Feary Band,