Culinary Kitchen

Chef Kelvin Ro

The building on the corner of Monsarrat and Campbell avenues has been a restaurant, an apartment, a house, a storage space, an office and it "may have even been a gas station," says Jim Byxbee, co-owner of Homeworks Construction Inc. But most of us know it (and love it!) as Diamond Head Market & Grill.

When chef Kelvin Ro took over the two-story property in 2002, he imagined a culinary hub—a multipurpose center that would include a gourmet market, a takeout grill and a teaching/gathering space. Although the downstairs market and grill have been up and running for about three-and-a-half years now, the upstairs remnant apartment space hasn't met Ro's vision. Consequently, Ro hired Homeworks Construction to turn it into a demonstration kitchen. With its completion, 3158 Monsarrat begins a new phase and realizes Ro's long-time dream.

"Downstairs we have a unique operation, where there is a market that contains a bakery, a deli, a coffee bar and very convenient gourmet food," Ro says. "Next door is the cook-to-order grill. My vision was to have a complete culinary center, and the upstairs kitchen was the natural step to completing my vision."

Adding a kitchen onto the second floor of an existing and popular business came with challenges. "Previously, things were just added and changed along the way that were not permitted," Byxbee says. And, until recently, the 2,400-square-foot space primarily functioned as a storage area for the market and grill. In order to turn it into a professional kitchen—where multiple chefs could work—it needed to be gutted. "We had to start from scratch," he says.

As a design/build company, Homeworks Construction prides itself on "taking care of the whole package." For the Diamond Head Market & Grill demonstration kitchen, that included cleaning up all the permits, drilling into concrete walls, leveling and adding drywall to the walls and ceiling, redoing the plumbing, ripping out the existing roof, weatherproofing the new roof and creating a patio space with a wrap-around balcony and iron gating. And, oh yes, working with Ro to design the new kitchen.

Because the support wall partially blocks natural light, Homeworks added three sets of French doors to flood the space with natural light and create an indoor/outdoor environment.

The primary goal was to create a functional space where Ro and his staff could test recipes and cater events, plus give cooking classes.

"We had to make it large enough for several people to work in here at once," Byxbee says. However, the width of the room posed a design challenge. The kitchen could not exceed 15 feet, because the building's concrete ceiling required a long, center-support beam. Within that narrow span, Homeworks skillfully fit in the entire Viking Professional Kitchen series. The Viking appliances were raised to the second floor with a forklift and built in.

A 20-foot-long, seafoam-green granite counter provides generous prep space for multiple chefs. Its span houses several under-cabinet Viking appliances: the 24-inch glass-door wine cooler, 36-inch warming drawer, 24-inch dishwasher and the convection-bake microwave with trim kit. The u-shaped island incorporates 4-foot-wide granite countertops on two sides. The extra-large capacity accommodates the Viking 48-inch, six-burner range top and grill, a 30-inch all-induction electric cooktop, 32-inch Kohler sink, while providing students room to sit and take notes.

"One person can be at the prep sink, another by the stove and Kelvin can stand in the front and teach," Byxbee says. "Kind of like Emeril."