When Kona Inn Restaurant's lease and contents sold this spring after two years on the market, the buyer was Island Restaurant Group, with Nakoa Pabre as its executive chairman. Pabre is a Kona-born restaurateur who already owned Umekes Fish Market Bar & Grill, as Big Island Now reported.
This year's downtown Kailua-Kona story includes both parking discussions and activity at local businesses and events. Along the same half mile of Ali'i Drive, residents raised parking and storefront issues at county council meetings, while a legacy restaurant changed hands and a weekly food truck gathering and monthly art stroll continued.
If you live here, you may have encountered these parking discussions, local businesses and community events. Here is a look at what happened this year and what it may mean for a Friday night or a Saturday errand.
Parking and Storefronts Along Ali'i Drive
Paid parking in Historic Kailua Village drew public attention in 2026. Rates at privately operated lots along Ali'i Drive run from $9 to $21 an hour, and the lots, mostly managed by Diamond Parking and a digital platform called Parklinq, use QR-code payment with little to no posted pricing at the entrance, according to reporting from Big Island Now.
For-lease signs are visible at Kona Inn Shopping Center. Destiny Hoskins, who works in a boutique there, told Civil Beat she has watched shoppers cut visits short, leaving mid-errand to beat the clock on a parking meter before another hour of charges kicks in.
Parking costs also affect some employees. Papa Kona's head chef, Kyle Kealiʻiheleua, pays $250 a month just to park near his own kitchen. Employees whose employers don't cover that cost have started parking in other companies' lots or showing up late because they couldn't find a free spot, according to the same Civil Beat reporting.
Parking availability also came up at a March county council hearing. In Big Island Now's coverage of the hearing, Kailua-Kona resident Noelle Lindenmann testified before the council:
"I used to have trouble finding a parking spot, and now I never do."
She told the council she used to wait 20 minutes for a table at Gecko Girls and 30 minutes at Foster's Kitchen. Big Island Now's coverage of the hearing reported that those waits no longer occur.
Parking Measures Before the County Council
Kona Councilwoman Rebecca Villegas sponsored several parking measures in 2026, with different outcomes at the county council.
| Bill | What it would do | Status as of August 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Bill 132 | Cap paid lots at $2 per hour for the first 24 hours, guarantee three free hours, and set a $30 daily maximum | Died in committee in mid-May 2026 after operators warned it could expose the county to lawsuits |
| Bill 162 | Require every paid lot to post its rates, fees, hours and towing contact at the entrance | Passed unanimously in July 2026 |
| Bill 154 | Ban new commercial paid parking lots across Hawai'i Island, with existing lots grandfathered in | Deferred by the Windward Planning Commission in early July 2026 for further research |
The rate-cap proposal stalled. Diamond Parking's Kona city manager, Jasmine Crusat, argued to the council that "government-mandated pricing does not lower costs. It drives business out, reduces services and ultimately harms the community." Parklinq CEO Tyler Saenz made a related case to the council, arguing that before lots were managed, the same cars sat for most of a workday, leaving no room for the customers those businesses actually needed.
The posted-rate ordinance Villegas introduced after Bill 132 stalled passed the full council without a single no vote. In Big Island Now's report, Villegas called it "a small step in the right direction." The ordinance is meant to let drivers see the price before they pull in rather than after. Bill 162 requires each paid lot to post its rates, fees, hours and towing contact at the entrance.
Kona Inn and Kona Canoe Club's New Plans
Kona Inn Restaurant and its neighbor, Kona Canoe Club, had been listed for sale since 2024, first at $3 million and then, after a year with no buyer, at $1.5 million as of March 2025, Big Island Now reported. That was a 50 percent reduction in the asking price for a pair of nearly century-old waterfront leases in the district.
Island Restaurant Group is backed by the owners of Jackie Rey's, Harbor House and Umekes. Pabre's plan for Kona Inn, which opened in 1928 as part of the first luxury hotel on the Big Island, was to keep what already worked. Pabre told Big Island Now, "We have all the same employees in both locations." He described the changes as updating the menu and fixing the awning rather than reinventing the place. The restaurant has since reopened with a refreshed menu, including a seafood stack and Kona-cut prime rib, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Kona Canoe Club, once a sports bar owned by former L.A. Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale, is being reimagined as a small-plates spot serving Polynesian-inspired tapas. Pabre's stated goal for the whole group was not expansion for its own sake. Pabre told Big Island Now that he wanted to build something people "feel proud to be part of, whether they work with us, partner with us, or walk through our doors."
Community Events
Kailua-Kona's weekly and monthly events continued alongside changes to local businesses.
Food Truck Friday changed locations in 2025. It had operated out of the Target parking lot for two years before the retailer discontinued the event in mid-2025 after reports of property damage at the site, according to Big Island Now. Mayor Kimo Alameda's administration issued a temporary permit at Old Kona Airport Beach Park. In a Hawai'i County announcement, organizer Catie Anderson said: "It has not only become a staple in our community, but it has also provided jobs for over 20 families on the Big Island." Regular vendors during that stretch included:
- Big Island Provisions
- Califas Mexican Food
- FOB's Polynesian Cuisine
- Hāmākua Creations
- Jillann's Caribbean Fusion
- Lock Jaw Lemon Peel
- Oyatsu-Sushi
- Piroshky
Anderson described the event in a Hawai'i County announcement as the biggest weekly gathering in Kona, based on last year's count.
Kokua Kailua Village Stroll is a monthly art walk organized by the Kailua Village Business Improvement District. Its published 2026 calendar includes a King Kamehameha Weekend edition on June 7 and the next date on August 16. The event features local musicians along the vendor line and artisans on Ali'i Drive.
What This Means for Your Week
For parking along Ali'i Drive between the shopping centers, Bill 162's posted rates should at least remove the surprise-fee problem starting this year. For community events and dining, options mentioned here include a Friday night at the food truck gathering, the monthly village stroll, or a table at the newly reopened Kona Inn.
Kailua-Kona's year included changes to parking rules, restaurant ownership and community events along the same stretch of Ali'i Drive.
Lovette Llantos works this same stretch of coastline every week, watching which storefronts fill and which stay dark, and which local names keep betting on the village's next chapter. If you are weighing what any of this means for your own place in Kailua-Kona, reach out to Lovette Llantos and Get Your Free Home Valuation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
