We Regretfully Say Aloha to Duane’s Char Ono Burger - a Fixture in Anahola for the Past Several Decades.
Leilani and Robert “Rip” Cord bought the burger stand in 1988 from Duane Horka. Cord was in the transportation business driving trucks when he decided that he wanted something different and on a visit to Kauai over 30-years ago he discovered that On Char Burger was for sale. For the last three decades, he, Leilani and his loyal staff have been providing smiles and filling belly’s for appreciative visitors and residents alike. There was the occasional shocked visitor who came to realize that "ono" translates to "delicious" or "tasty" in the Hawaiian language, and it's not just an "Ono" fish when they receive their hamburger and not their fin burger.
The Cord's are at a point in their life where running a restaurant on a day-to-day basis has become more chore than cherish. We thank them for being such a great part of our community over the past thirty years and wish them well in their retirement. Aloha.
We will miss the little red roadside burger shack in Anahola and hope a new "Cord-like " couple will pick up the spatula and continue the food tradition there as they did. For those who want one last taste, here you go...
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