Booniez Local Eats
Opened: December
Location: Chamorro Village
Owners: Nick Jude Quinata and James Opena
Number of employees: 1
The food stall at Chamorro Village next to Jamaican Grill serves a variety of vegan and vegetarian dishes. The owners’ goal is to open a sit-down style restaurant in a year or two.
Exit
Opened: June 3
Location: San Vitores Plaza, 1097 San Vitores Rd. Suite 102, Tumon
Owner: Sijie Lu
Manager: Jantzen Pueyo
Number of employees: 7
Exit features signature cocktails based on bourbon, whiskey and other brown liquors combined with fresh and, when possible, local ingredients.
SAIPAN
Zen Teppanyaki Restaurant
Opened: July 11
Location: Coconut Street and Coffee Tree Mall intersection, Garapan
Owner: Kan Pacific Saipan Ltd.
General manager: Gloria Cavanagh
Head chef: Naoji Wada
Number of employees: 16
Zen is a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant seating up to 40. Head Chef Naoji Wada trained under Master Teppanyaki Chef Takano Setsuo. Nearly everything on the menu is grilled, from freshly caught local fish to Wagyu beef imported from Japan and even some of the desserts.
IHOP Saipan
Opened: June
Location: Former Sketchers building on Beach Road in Garapan
Owner: Pacific Pancakes LLC
President: Richard Hart
Number of employees: 35
IHOP Saipan seats 74 patrons and serves pancakes and other all-day dining foods including a few local items. The restaurant’s main focus is to provide the same IHOP experience people have had in the restaurant’s 58 years of business in the United States.
Tasty Burgers & Ribs
Opened: Late May
Location: Paseo de Marianas in Garapan
Owner: Tan Holdings Corp.
Food and beverage manager: Das Krishnan
Executive chef: Roland Fritz
Number of employees: 5
The restaurant offers menu options ranging from a home-style ham and cheese sandwich to a well-portioned pork ribs plate, to its most popular burger, the Wagyu Burger. Executive chef Roland Fritz brings with him 15 years as an executive chef and more than 20 years on cruise lines.
Kensington Hotel
Opened: July 20
Location: Former Palms Resort, Paupau Beach
Owner: E-Land Group
General manager: Myung Wook “Matthew” Park
Number of employees: 331
The former Palms Resort was renovated and opened as Kensington Hotel in July with 14 floors and 313 rooms, including eight suites, as well as restaurants, bars, event rooms, a branded luxury gallery, swimming pools and a snorkeling pool, a wedding chapel and a spa by L’Occitane. The hotel is designed to look like a cruise ship and aims to be the top luxury all-inclusive hotel in Saipan.
