Hawaii restaurateur and longtime National Restaurant Association director Ed Wary has died at age 75 after a long battle with cancer.
Wary died on Dec. 5, but his passing was not announced until Thursday.
A native of Massachusetts, Wary found success in Hawaii with several restaurant concepts, starting with Bishop Street Café in 1979. His more recent ventures included Dixie Grills and Whisky Dix Saloon, a country-themed nightclub.
He also served for 20 years as a teacher at the School of Travel Industry Management’s Restaurant Entrepreneur course, a curriculum intended to help restaurant workers become owners of their own operation.
Wary was a director of the Hawaii Restaurant Association and the National Restaurant Association for a decade.
“Ed was a motivator, activator, educator, and mentor,” Regynald Washington, a former chairman of the national group’s board and the president of Paradies Lagardere Dining Division, a concessions operator, commented in a statement. “He impacted and changed the lives of many through his kindness, knowledge, and unwavering appetite for excellence. He will be missed.”
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