Sale of restaurant, lounge pending with local restaurateur

Illinois-based Quintus Resorts LLC sold its Hanalei Bay Resort management business to Celebrity Resorts of Orlando, Fla. yesterday.

Effectively immediately, Celebrity will manage the two associations of the 134-unit resort in Princeville and will operate a nightly room rental business. It will also take over Quintus’ timeshare sales and marketing business at Hanalei Bay Resort.

The acquisition comes nine months after 40 resort and restaurant workers were laid off when cash shortages left Quintus unable to pay for front desk and bell services.

Gary Grottke, president of Quintus, said it is anticipated that all management company employees will retain their current positions.

Grottke described the decision to sell as “difficult,” and cited two driving factors. “First, Celebrity Resorts has a greater capacity on Kaua‘i to supervise and to assist in advancing the resort. Second, Quintus needs to raise money for upcoming debt service payments and for initiatives on the Mainland.”

Quintus is also in the process of selling the onsite Bali Hai restaurant and Happy Talk Lounge, which it owned outright, to local restaurateur Jim Moffat, who has plans to invest $1.5 million in renovating both venues.

Once finalized, all food and beverage employees who were previously notified of the pending sale will be terminated.

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(Source: Blake Jones, Kauai Garden Island News)