Hawaiian restaurant coming to old Dee Felice spot in MainStrasse

A Hawaiian restaurant serving musubi sandwiches and teriyaki chicken will soon open inside the former Dee Felice Cafe in Covington's MainStrasse Village.

Keahola's Kitchen, which currently operates a small carryout in Latonia, made the announcement via Facebook on Wednesday.

During the pandemic, Dee Felice owners Shelly DeFelice-Nelson and her husband, Patrick Nelson, leased their Dee Felice restaurant to Another Round LLC, which kept the original name, menu and live jazz performances. The couple also owns the building.

In August, DeFelice-Nelson told The Enquirer that staffing shortages and a customer shift away from fine dining seemed to doom the space, adding that the restaurant's reputation as a place for special occasions was a particular challenge since many of its customers only came back once or twice a year.

“You need something more competitive because there’s a lot of competition over here,” DeFelice-Nelson said, pointing to places such as Bouquet, Lisse and Mama's on Main. “You can’t just be a once-a-year type place.”

In July, DeFelice-Nelson terminated Another Round's lease for nonpayment and the restaurant shuttered for good about two weeks later.

According to the Keahola's Kitchen Facebook post, Keahola hopes to open in the space by November: "Got some very exciting news concerning the future of Kealoha‘s kitchen. We will be moving into the space where the iconic DeeFelice Cafe was in MainStrasse! We will still operate out of our carry-out in Latonia thru the end of October. If all goes well, we plan to open the new location by Nov. Stay tune for updates! Mahalos to the Nelson & Defelice ohana’s for this huge opportunity! And most of all, Mahalo ke Akua."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Keahola's Kitchen Hawaiian restaurant opening in old Dee Felice spot