Leeward Drive-Inn sits at the corner of Pūpūkāhi and Pūpūpani streets in Waipahu’s old West Gate shopping center, where it has served plate lunches for more than 60 years. Brothers from the Yamaki family opened it in 1964, and in 2007 the business was sold to Anthony Kim, who added Korean dishes to the menu, Oahu Local reported.
Regulars know it for fried saimin, barbecue chicken and kalbi plates, mac salad, turnovers and soft-serve. The drive-inn’s own website lists favorites like loco moco, kalua pig, chicken katsu and its special fried noodles, and it also offers catering.
A kitchen fire early on Oct. 2 has kept the drive-inn closed, according to Oahu Local. Fire investigators ruled the cause accidental, and as of Nov. 2 Leeward Drive-Inn hadn’t announced a reopening timeline.
Featured in Oahu Local: Leeward Drive-Inn: Six Decades of Fried Saimin, Turnovers and Orange Picnic Tables in Waipahu