Hawaii Theatre closes lease deal with Indigo

The nonprofit Hawaii Theatre Center and the Indigo restaurant have signed a new 10-year lease after years of negotiations. The center, which owns the restaurant space at 1121 Nuuanu Ave. in Honolulu's Chinatown, also announced that renovation projects are in the works for the building. The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

"We are thrilled to have reached an agreement that restores a friendship forged more than 15 years ago when Indigo signed its first lease with Hawaii Theatre Center,” said Sarah Richards, president of the center, in a Wednesday, June 10, statement.

Indigo owner and Chef Glenn Chu said the restaurant will get $300,000 in upgrades such as fresh paint, new seating and new lighting. Both the theater and the restaurant have been catalysts for the revitalization of Chinatown that began in the 1990s. Disagreements over rent and repairs led to occasionally public disputes between the two, which the lease agreement has apparently put to rest.