Lani's Luau had served traditional Hawaiian plate lunches in a strip mall on Golf Links and Harrison roads for almost a decade. That seems to have come to an end ... The little restaurant sits empty with a "landlord's lien" sign posted on the door.
The sign, written by Tucson Realty and Trust Co. Management Services LLC, states that a lien has been placed on "all personal property" on the premises "due to tenant's default of the lease agreement."
Tucson Realty "hereby locks these premises and notifies everyone that it is unlawful to enter ..."
When it opened at 2532 S. Harrison Road in late 2006, Lani's was the only place in town for the traditional Hawaiian plate lunch of grilled meats with rice and macaroni salad. (Mama's Hawaiian BBQ came along in 2010.) Hawaii transplants Zane and Leilani Dowling offered a list of hard to find items including laulau pork wrapped in a taro leaf and the addicting passionfruit orange guava soda called POG.
The Arizona Daily Star reported that Lani's held a fundraiser in 2011 to keep its doors open. At the time, the restaurant was reported to have owed roughly $10,000 to Arizona Restaurant Supply.
