Hawaii
After 17 years, a popular Honolulu hot dog stand is closing down for good
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – After 17 years, a popular Honolulu hot dog stand is closing down for good; despite the popularity of these gourmet wieners and burgers, Hank’s Haute Dog will serve its last order on October 17th.
“So I’ve been looking at retirement for a while. In fact, I was looking at that before the pandemic, but I didn’t want the pandemic to shut us down, so we pushed through that. And now, I just turned 70, so it’s like, you know, I think I’m going to kick back a little bit, said owner Hank Adaniya.
And once Hank made this announcement last week, loyal haute fans have been rushing in to get their fill of their favorite items on the menu.
“I always come every now and then, and because they’re closing, I especially made a special trip because I’m leaving for the mainland tomorrow.” said Lei Hilton of Makakilo.
“We came here because they’re closing, which makes us sad,” said Marci Reeves of Honolulu.
Just by looking at what’s being served, it’s easy to see why Hank’s is such a big hit. These are no ordinary hot dogs; remember, they’re “haute,” which means fancy in French.
“All the different ways they prepare it, I think, you know, you don’t have that at any other place,” said Hilton
“It tastes amazing. They are probably the best hot dogs we’ve ever had, really,” said Reeves.
All of this pre-closing activity has also been a way for loyal customers to come by and say a big mahalo and aloha to the big dog himself, Hank Adaniya.
“You now, it’s overwhelming. We just thought we’d exit quietly,” says Hank. “To see this outpouring of love, appreciation, and patronage is just heartwarming.”
As the end of this hot dog adventure draws near, I learned this from Hank: He may be retiring, but don’t count him out altogether.
“I still love this; I’m going to miss it. So, I’ve talked to a few people. It’s like maybe we’ll pop up here and there and just, you know, from my own personal satisfaction, you know, give a people a chance to taste it again,” he explains.
And that, no doubt, will have many saying “hot diggity dog” to having another Hank’s Haute Dog in the future.
Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Hawaii
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Began as a Concept Called Like a Dragon: Tuna Where Kiryu Was a Fighting Fisherman – IGN
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, the next game from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, was originally a concept called Like a Dragon: Tuna where original protagonist Kiryu Kazuma was a fighting fisherman.
RGG Studio director Masayoshi Yokoyama revealed the origins in a PlayStation Blog post discussing Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii ahead of its February 28 release date. The game stars the fan favorite Majima Goro as he wakes up on a beach with no memory and, in a sea-faring alternative to his yakuza roots, becomes a pirate.
It wasn’t originally going to star Majima at all, however. “For quite some time, I wanted to make a game called Like a Dragon: Tuna, where Kiryu Kazuma, as a tuna fisherman, sets off to sea to fight against fishing boats,” Yokoyama said.
“Long story short, it never came to fruition, but keywords like ‘ship,’ ‘sea,’ and ‘fighting,’ which had since then been engraved in my head, evolved into the concept of pirates.”
Kiryu has had plenty of fishy experience over the years through the myriad fishing minigames sprinkled throughout the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series. He’s also resorted to beating the rowdier ones up with his fists, like in the shark boss fight from Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth that’s practically the end of Jaws.
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a spin-off to Infinite Wealth, the eighth mainline entry in the Yakuza series (or ninth including Yakuza 0). The series underwent a name change from Yakuza to Like a Dragon upon its release, made more confusing by the seventh game being called Yakuza: Like a Dragon and starring new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga.
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii grew into its own thing during the development of the latest game, however. “Around June or July 2023, long before the release of Infinite Wealth, the dev team was already mulling over the idea of an Infinite Wealth spin-off,” Yokoyama said.
“Even if we were to make Like a Dragon 9, we knew that wouldn’t be enough to capture and tell the story. During the end of the Infinite Wealth development, we began percolating the idea of a spin-off that stars characters who are not Ichiban Kasuga. It was almost as if we were creating a blown-up sub-story for Infinite Wealth.”
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii was revealed in September as a half Yakuza, half Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag-looking entry. A lengthy reveal trailer showed Majima washed up on the beach of Rich Island, near Hawaii, looking worse for wear and helped by a child with a pet tiger (who is bizarrely played by Ichiban voice actor Nakaya Kazuhiro).
This will be the first time in a while Yakuza fans have had to wait an entire year for a new release, with Infinite Wealth having arrived in January and Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii not launching until February. While this is fairly normal for most game franchises, RGG Studio is known for its rapid release schedule.
In the last five years, for example, it has released Yakuza 4 Remastered, Yakuza 5 Remastered, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Judgment Remastered, Lost Judgment, Like a Dragon: Ishin, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, alongside three Super Monkey Ball Games and an enhanced remaster of Virtua Fighter 5. That’s 12 games in total.
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will therefore add to that list, but the next mainline game (and a mysterious trademark called Yakuza Wars) are yet to be revealed. In our first preview of the incoming entry, IGN said: “Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is ship-shaping up to be a seaworthy spin-off with a fin-favorite at its helm.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Hawaii
City removing palms infested by coconut rhinoceros beetles | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Hawaii
Daniel Dae Kim To Exec Produce ‘Makawalu’, Hawaii’s Biggest Ever Indie Feature, Co-Directed By Eight Native Hawaiian Filmmakers
EXCLUSIVE: Actor and producer Daniel Dae Kim has come on board to executive produce Makawalu, a feature film initiated by Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF), entirely created and to be co-directed by eight Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) filmmakers.
The project, the largest budgeted indie feature entirely created by Kanaka Maoli talent, is fully funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the Asian American Foundation (TAAF), and Pacific Islanders in Communication (PIC). More than 90% of the project’s financing comes from organisations invested in change that are based outside Hawaii.
Currently in pre-production, the feature starts shooting in spring 2025 for an early 2026 release. The eight filmmakers are Justyn Ah Chong, Taylour Chang, Ty Sanga, Ciara Lacy, Āina Paikai, Erin Lau, Scott W. Kekama Amona and Katherine Wong.
First presented in 2021, the Makawalu project involved an extensive selection process after which the eight filmmakers participated in a five-day filmmaker lab and retreat in Honolulu with high-profile industry mentors.
Kim, known for his acting roles in Lost and Hawaii Five-0, is also a producer (The Good Doctor) and has been a Hawaii resident for almost two decades. He started working with the Makawalu filmmakers on the writers retreat in 2021, along with other mentors including Kerry Warkia (Waru), Amy Hill (Magnum PI) and Kiel McNaughton (The Legend Of Baron To’a).
“Makawalu represents an important step in recognizing Native Hawaiian filmmakers and the power of their stories. As someone who’s worked with this talented group firsthand, it’s been an honor to be able to amplify their voices and help this project come to life,” said Kim.
Post-retreat, the filmmakers continued to develop the script and production via monthly workshops and mentorship with industry figures including Sean Baker (Anora), Sara Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead) and Dana Ledoux Miller (co-writer and co-director of Disney’s upcoming Moana 2).
Other producers on the project include Sundance alum Sarah S. Kim (August At Akiko’s), and HIFF Artistic Director Anderson Le. John Cheng of 3AD Media will also executive produce.
Makawalu tells the story of a typical July 4th “luau” on the island of Oahu through eight different perspectives. The word Makawalu, in modern ōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) terminology, references “different perspectives of a situation.”
“The filmmakers crafted a layered screenplay that will unpack many ongoing issues that modern Native Hawaiians face,” said HIFF Artistic Director Anderson Le. “From the exotification of Native Hawaiian culture in Hollywood media, to the repercussions of American colonization through capitalism and militarization of Hawai‘i, Makawalu explores what it means to be ‘Hawaiian’, being priced out of ‘paradise’, all on U.S. Independence Day.”
HIFF Executive Director and Makawalu executive producer, Beckie Stocchetti, said: “The intention of the Makawalu project is to provide an opportunity and access for these groundbreaking filmmakers to have full ownership over the telling of their story from their perspective. In order to make that happen we also needed to fundamentally change the traditional financing structure of independent film.”
With the production funded and ready to shoot in early 2025, HIFF will officially launch HIFF Studios, to support independent film productions in Hawaii, with a suite of support of financing, legal, and artist development programs to increase career opportunities and develop an industry pipeline for Hawaiian and Pacific Islander creatives.
-
Technology6 days ago
Charter will offer Peacock for free with some cable subscriptions next year
-
World6 days ago
Ukrainian stronghold Vuhledar falls to Russian offensive after two years of bombardment
-
World6 days ago
WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange says he pleaded ‘guilty to journalism’ in order to be freed
-
Technology5 days ago
Beware of fraudsters posing as government officials trying to steal your cash
-
Health4 days ago
Health, happiness and helping others are vital parts of free and responsible society, Founding Fathers taught
-
Virginia1 week ago
Status for Daniels and Green still uncertain for this week against Virginia Tech; Reuben done for season
-
Sports4 days ago
Freddie Freeman says his ankle sprain is worst injury he's ever tried to play through
-
News4 days ago
Lebanon says 50 medics killed in past three days as Israel extends its bombardment