{"id":863,"date":"2026-06-02T10:36:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T10:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=863"},"modified":"2026-06-02T10:36:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T10:36:39","slug":"hawaiis-oldest-bar-closes-in-chinatown-after-92-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=863","title":{"rendered":"Hawaii\u2019s oldest bar closes in Chinatown after 92 years"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Editor\u2019s note: An initial version of this story aired on Dec. 16, 2025. This post has since been updated.<\/b><\/p>\n

Read more Hawaii choir heads to France for 82nd anniversary of Normandy landings<\/a><\/p>\n

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii\u2019s oldest bar, which sits on property owned by a prominent Chinatown landlord, is officially closed.<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s Union Bar on N. Hotel Street locked its doors for good on Monday, June 1, after 92 years in business.<\/p>\n

The bar was established in 1934 after the end of prohibition and has seen decades of Hawaii\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

It was a popular spot among sailors, survived the bombing of Pearl Harbor and World War II, and became known as the \u201cofficial watering hole of the USS Arizona.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think in the military veteran community, it means a lot,\u201d said Jim McCoy of Pacific Historic Parks. \u201cI know it\u2019s changing times but it\u2019s also history, and it\u2019s history that we don\u2019t want to forget.\u201d<\/p>\n

Employees were told last December that landlord Allen Stack Jr. decided not to renew the bar\u2019s lease for reasons that were not disclosed.<\/p>\n

Stack\u2019s attorney did not respond to Hawaii News Now\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a long run,\u201d Chris Asuncion, manager of Smith\u2019s Union Bar, said. \u201cThe landlord decided it\u2019s time to close.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Overnight runway work at HNL may increase aircraft noise this week<\/a><\/p>\n

News of the impending closure drew longtime patrons and newer customers hoping for one last visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came down because I read the newspaper this morning that the bar was closing. We had lunch across the street and thought it would be perfect to come here afterwards,\u201d said Judie Malmgren, who stopped in with friends.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Neighboring business owner Dave Stewart, who runs Bar 35, was upset with the news and said last December he planned to speak with Stack.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m devastated. I\u2019m on my way to see the landlord right now,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cIt can\u2019t close. It\u2019s the oldest [expletive] bar in the whole of Hawaii. So no, it can\u2019t close. It\u2019s got to be saved.\u201d<\/p>\n

In December, Asuncion said that the bar\u2019s closure depended \u201con how long it takes us to sell whatever liquor we got left… Till the liquor runs out \u2014 ride it till the wheels fall off.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the bar\u2019s doors now officially closed, the future of the space remains unclear.<\/p>\n

In a social media post, the bar wrote: \u201cUpon leaving the City will be locking up the building. The landlords will have to bring the building up to State Code before anything can ever go into that space. Since Smith\u2019s is 92yrs old we are grandfathered in. Meaning electric, plumbing, floor, roof, foundation will all have to be done to bring it up to Code.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Alleged serial kupuna killer makes first court appearance in Hilo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Smith\u2019s Union Bar on N. Hotel Street was established in 1934 after the end of prohibition and has seen decades of Hawaii history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nHawaii\u2019s oldest bar closes in Chinatown after 92 years - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=863\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hawaii\u2019s oldest bar closes in Chinatown after 92 years - Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Smith\u2019s Union Bar on N. 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