Page 2 - Dining Out - May 9, 2021
P. 2

  ANNE LEE
speaks with Honolulu Mayor
RICK BLANGIARDI
Photos by
ANTHONY CONSILLIO
Restaurant Insider with Anne Lee
   AL: You selected The Ve- randa at The Kahala Ho- tel & Resort. Why did you choose this location? RB: This place has held wonderful memories for me. I used to come here when I was younger — listening to Danny Kalei- kini sing on the beach, to taking my kids here when they were little for Fruit Loops and to watch the dolphins. Through the years, there have been countless dinners and meaningful celebra- tions that I have attended here at The Kahala.
AL: Where did you grow up and how did you get to Hawaii?
RB: I was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. When I was 18, I was attending a prep school at a naval academy, and my father was a machinist working at Watertown Arsenal in Boston. This location was closing and had an op- tion to be transferred to either Newport News, Virginia or Pearl Har- bor. My mother wanted to come to Hawaii, but not without her oldest son — me! That changed my destiny.
I attended University of Hawaii and played football for a couple of years. I had to go back to the East Coast due to family circumstances. Coach Larry Price, who I played for at the time,
understood my need to leave. I had a successful career playing football and continued on that path. I graduated from Springfield College, and started coaching at Uni- versity of Connecticut in my 20s. We stayed in touch through the years. In 1971, he asked me to come back to Hawaii to coach football with him and I did. Hawaii is my home — all three of my children were born here.
AL: You also had a stint in sales, and that’s how you became affiliated with the television stations. Tell me about this journey.
RB: I coached alongside coach Price for five sea- sons, and my wife and I found out that we had a baby on the way. Know- ing the salary, coaching wasn’t the greatest, and I took the opportunity to do sales at KGMB in 1978.
In 2008, the recession hit very hard for our stations — all media for that matter suffered as a result of businesses closing, layoffs, etc. Out of that situation came the opportunity to merge the three stations (KGMB, KHNL and K5) and create something for Hawaii that it had never seen before.
We were on life sup- port, and with the re- sources we had, we built the largest television newsroom in the state.
We understood mobile technology to the extent we could in 2009, and we never looked back. I am fond of the memo- ries, not just the awards that we won, but serving the people of Hawaii. We couldn’t have done it without the great men and women that were on the team. I am proud of all of them and always will be.
This was my last year in broadcasting and something I’m really proud of. I spent 43 years from those humble be- ginnings at what is now called Hawaii News Now.
AL: You come from an Ital- ian background. I also grew up on the East Coast, sur- rounded by Italian friends. It’s very similar to the aloha spirit here, where families gather for food and cele- brations. Where were some of your favorite eateries here in Hawaii?
RB: My parents are Ital- ian, and I grew up bilin- gual in a large Italian household. Although my parents didn’t have a lot of money, we al- ways had clean clothes and lots of great food! I remember food being the center of everything. When I moved to Hawaii, I thought it was going to be different and exotic. It was, yet also so simi- lar because of the gath- erings, celebrations and aloha. My assimi-
SALES MANAGER
Anne Lee
Phone: 808-347-1093 alee@staradvertiser.com
    12
Dining Out is a weekly advertising supplement published by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Visit us at dining.staradvertiser.com
FOLLOW US ON
@DININGOUT_HAWAII DININGOUTHAWAII
SPECIAL SECTIONS MANAGER
Nicole Monton
Phone: 808-529-4857 diningout@staradvertiser.com
      2 / Dining Out / May 9-15, 2021




































































   1   2   3   4   5