BUSINESS BRIEFS
Cassis closes after 10 months
Advertiser Staff
Cassis Restaurant and Wine Bar, Chef George Mavrothalassitis' casual French bistro in the former Palomino location at Queen and Bethel streets, has closed.
The James Beard Award-winning chef, who continues to operate his widely acclaimed fine-dining restaurant, Chef Mavro, on McCully and South King streets, said in a release yesterday that "the Downtown space of over 13,000 square feet was way too big for what I love to do."
Operations ceased after service Saturday night.
The restaurant closed just short of its first anniversary, which would have been April 30. Mavrothalassitis described the decision to close as "very sad for us all," but said he would turn his attention to the 10th anniversary of Chef Mavro.
DRY-CLEANING DEAL COMPLETED
U.S. Dry Cleaning Corp., owner of Young Laundry in Hawai'i, said it completed the acquisition of a 20-store dry-cleaning business based in Fresno, Calif., for a combination of stock, cash and notes.
The Palm Springs, Calif.-based company said it bought a company that operates locations under the One Hour Martinizing and Regency Cleaners name around the central California city. The company reported in a regulatory filing that it paid about $1.5 million in cash and $3.07 million in stock valued at $1.50 a share, or above yesterday's closing price of 90 cents each.
The company said the acquisition will increase revenues by about $6.5 million a year. The transaction completes a purchase agreement announced in September.
U.S. Dry Cleaning is attempting to consolidate the dry-cleaning business by building regional operations. It issued shares last summer at $2.50 each.
ISLE FOLKS STILL PAY MOST FOR GAS
Hawai'i residents are still paying the highest gas prices in the nation — 45 cents a gallon higher than the national average.
According to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report, the average for a gallon of regular in the Islands is $3.48. The national average rose 2 cents from Monday to yesterday, to $3.03 a gallon.
The second-highest gas price is in New York at $3.23, followed by California at $3.19. Alaska, Connecticut and Washington are all averaging $3.18. Twenty-two states are below $3.
Gasoline prices have been tracking crude oil prices higher. Crude oil futures rose $4.51 to settle at a record $100.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange yesterday after earlier rising to $100.10, a trading record. It was the first time since Jan. 3 that oil had been above $100.
BANK TO OPEN INTERNATIONAL BRANCH
Bank of Hawaii will open the doors of its new International Banking Center tomorrow in Waikiki.
The bank says it's the state's first branch dedicated to serving international clientele, and is staffed with 20 multilingual specialists fluent in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and French.
The event, from 5 to 7:30 p.m., will be marked with sake, a ribbon cutting and a lion dance ceremony. The center is at 2155 Kalakaua Ave.
Welcoming remarks will be delivered by Betty Brow, senior vice president of international banking; Al Landon, chief executive officer; and Peter Ho, chief banking officer.
Bank of Hawaii is the second largest bank in the state, with $10.47 billion in assets.
