Natsunoya Tea House Has Been a Gathering Spot for More Than a Century

2025 SmallBiz Editor’s Choice Awards Hall of Fame: Lawrence Fujiwara is the third-generation owner of this historic landmark in ‘Ālewa Heights.

From its perch near the top of ‘Ālewa Heights, Natsunoya Tea House has become a historic landmark. But its continued success, says owner Lawrence Fujiwara, depends on being able to constantly renew and upgrade the business while retaining its appeal to longtime customers.

First opened in 1921, the teahouse and restaurant have been given a fresh exterior appearance since a fire on Feb. 24, 2024, destroyed the home of Fujiwara’s grandparents, the founders of the business. The adjacent restaurant’s kitchen was scorched on one side and other parts of the business suffered smoke damage, Fujiwara says, but everything else survived intact.

He declined to disclose the cost of damage while the insurance settlement is still in process, but those who worked on the repairs say things could have been far worse. The restaurant resumed full operations last May.

Fujiwara says he appreciates the support the business received during the recovery. “The community, the employees, the vendors … everybody was reaching out, trying to see if they could help us,” he says.

With business back to normal, Fujiwara says he’s considering next steps. The latest upgrade involves converting a private room upstairs into a “chef’s table” for 10 to 12 people. That would be adjacent to the teahouse’s current dining room, which has a panoramic view of the city and can accommodate groups of 50 to 60.

Downstairs is the main banquet hall, large enough for about 200. Most of the restaurant’s business comprises catering and large group events, but there is some conventional restaurant traffic too, including at the sushi bar, one of the teahouse’s more recent additions. And behind the main building, connected by a walkway, are two small cottages for parties of 20 and 30.

The restaurant has a staff of 12 full-time employees and 30 to 40 part-timers. Fujiwara, who took over the helm in 1996, studied business administration at the University of San Diego. But he’s a cook at heart and so is the rest of his family. In fact, an uncle is one of the teahouse’s past head chefs.

Fujiwara says his grandfather first settled in the San Francisco area, but after the devastating earthquake and fire of 1906, he headed back to Japan. On his return trip, he stopped in Hawai‘i, fell in love with the Islands and stayed. He eventually built the teahouse, years before the surrounding neighborhood filled in.

Fujiwara’s parents took over in 1956, followed years later by Fujiwara himself. He underscores that he took over the place without pressure from Mom and Dad.

As for a continuation of the Natsunoya family business, Fujiwara insists that, again, there will be no pressure. He and his wife have four children and, he says, it’s possible that more chapters will be added to the family business’s story.