Waikoloa Highlands Shopping Center opens food court

KAILUA-KONA — Cuisine options have expanded in Waikoloa Village with the opening of a food court at the Waikoloa Highlands Shopping Center.

The shopping center, located at 68-1845 Waikoloa Road, has expanded its eateries from two food kiosks to four food court restaurants. Los Tres Mex and Racha Thai relocated from the kiosks to the food court last week. Emma’s Kitchen is now also a tenant.

Kona Chinese Deli will open for business at the food court on Feb. 1.

“Both the landlord and Colliers saw a need for a food court at Waikoloa Highlands Shopping Center as we believed it would benefit the community and draw visitors to the shopping center,” Hendricks Commercial Properties stated in an email Friday.

Yani Cifuentes’ family owns Los Tres Mex. She said they had been operating out of the kiosk for six years before moving into their larger space at the food court Monday.

“We were very tight on space,” Cifuentes said of their previous location. “We couldn’t serve much more customers than what we were doing.”

Cifuentes loves the new space and said the restaurant is better able to serve customers.

“It’s very nice,” she said. “Everything is brand new. They did a really nice job on the shopping center.”

Planning and discussions for the food court began in early 2015 and physical construction commenced last March.

“The food court provides a variety of additional dining options for the Waikoloa community,” Hendricks stated. “They no longer need to drive to Waimea or the resort area of Waikoloa to grab a quick bite to eat.”