Restaurant Roundup: Lani Moku Grill opens restaurant, new Ethiopian eatery planned

Em Chan, Salem Statesman Journal

In Restaurant Roundup, Em Chan shares some local restaurants' latest updates. Have a question for a restaurant you'd like Chan to look into? You can send her your inquiries at echan@gannett.com.

Lani Moku Grill

Lani Moku Grill is now a brick and mortar restaurant located in Springfield.
Lani Moku Grill is now a brick and mortar restaurant located in Springfield.

Lani Moku Grill opened its brick and mortar location in Springfield in late June.

The Hawaiian restaurant originally started out as a food truck located at the Beergarden in Eugene. Owners and couple Brittany and Lacy Hunt run the business together. The last time Lani Moku was in Springfield was when it had a stand at the PublicHouse in 2019.

Related: Lani Moku says aloha to Springfield

The building the restaurant is located in was previously Round Table Pizza. The building itself holds major significance for the owners. They met while working at the pizza restaurant, and it is where Lacy later proposed to Brittany.

Lani Moku Grill's first brick and mortar space includes a full bar.
Lani Moku Grill's first brick and mortar space includes a full bar.

The space is completely redone, with new furniture, a fresh paint job, interior decor and even a selfie corner with fake vegetation on the wall and a neon sign of the Hawaiian shaka. The seating is a mix of standard table and booth, plus a smaller room with comfier options including plush and cushioned rattan chairs.

Lani Moku's brick and mortar features all the classics folks love from the food cart, plus a few additions including starters, salads, desserts and a full bar, featuring Hawaiian classic cocktails as well as draft beer.

A cozy seating space inside Lani Moku Grill's Springfield restaurant.
A cozy seating space inside Lani Moku Grill's Springfield restaurant.

Desserts include various flavors of butter mochi, cheesecakes - including the strawberry guava - cookies and more. Catering is still offered and inquiries can be made through the website's catering page.

For more info, check out the website, lanimokugrill.com, Facebook and Instagram page, @lanimokugrill.

Lani Moku Grill's garlic shrimp plate lunch, spam fries and kalua pig sliders.
Lani Moku Grill's garlic shrimp plate lunch, spam fries and kalua pig sliders.

Hours: 4 - 9 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Address: 5547 Main St., Springfield

Zagwe's Restaurant

Zagwe's Restaurant is the first brick and mortar Ethiopian restaurant to open in the area since Springfield's Addis Ethiopian Cuisine closed a few years ago.

Zagwe's comes from the same owners of Makeda's Cuisine food truck, couple Paolos and Eden Kidanemariam.

The couple announced the upcoming restaurant in Eugene with a post on Makeda's Facebook page.

The restaurant is hiring now and is having a mural painted on the outside of the restaurant. A soft opening was announced tentatively for July.

For more info, keep an eye on Zegwe's Restaurant's website, zagwerestaurant.wordpress.com and Facebook page.

Address: 298 Blair Blvd., Eugene

Em Chan covers food and dining at the Statesman Journal. You can reach her at echan@gannett.com, follow her on Twitter @catchuptoemily or see what she's eating on Instagram @sikfanmai.ah.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Restaurant Roundup: Lani Moku Grill opens restaurant in Springfield

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