Mother’s Day specials back at Oleai Beach Bar & Grill

Oleai Beach Bar & Grill is located right on the beach across Downtown Market in San Jose. (MARK RABAGO)

One of the island’s favorite sunset dinner haunts is bringing back an old favorite after a couple of years of absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Owner Akiko Kamegai said just in time for Mother’s Day they will be offering a special Mother’s Day special for lunch and dinner on May 14 at Oleai Beach Bar & Grill.

The Mother’s Day special are chicken parmesan and salmon quiche and scotch egg (with rice or french fries). The former can be had for only $15, while the latter costs only $19.

“Every year a lot of people come out to celebrate Mother’s Day at Oleai Beach Bar & Grill. Back in the day we used to do a little special. Most of our regular customers, maybe 70-80% are locals, and we just want to give them something new for this Mother’s Day,” said Kamegai.

In a way, Oleai Beach Bar & Grill is bringing back the lunch and dinner specials for Mother’s Day not only as a tribute to mothers who are essentially the light of every home, but also as a big thank you to all their loyal customers.

Oleai Beach Bar & Grill’s Mother’s Day lunch and dinner specials of chicken parmesan, left, and salmon quiche and scotch egg. (MARK RABAGO)

“They come repeatedly and our customers are heavy repeaters and it will be good to give them some other choices during this special day,” she added.

As for how Oleai Beach Bar & Grill survived the pandemic, Kamegai said they were challenging times, to say the least.

“In 2020, we had to shut down for about two months because of the government directive, but as soon as they loosened the restrictions and restaurants can now operate certain hours we started right back up.”

Oleai Beach Bar & Grill reopened only with takeout then moved to 50% occupancy with limited hours, then eventually to full operations.

Kamegai said sales were really slow then, but they were fortunate not to let go of their staff, but unfortunately had to cut employee hours.

“At least we were able to give them half of their regular hours even during the pandemic. During the pandemic a lot of restaurants had to shut down, but fortunately we had our loyal local customers and we didn’t have to shut down,” she said.

Kamegai said she’s just happy that customers—both local and tourists—are returning to Oleai Beach Bar & Grill once again to enjoy not only their terrific sunset views and el fresco seating, but also their sumptuous food.

While their lunch and dinner bestsellers are their steaks and burgers, Oleai Beach Bar & Grill has also become popular for their happy hour appetizers like tacos and kelaguen—beef, chicken, and fish.

The original Oleai Beach Bar & Grill opened in 2001, then Kamegai and her husband took over in 2013 after it was essentially abandoned for two years.

“We didn’t grow as much as we liked because of supertyphoons in 2015 and 2018 and COVID-19 in 2020. Sales went up naturally because the prices went up as well because of an upswing in tourists in 2017. We are really just trying to maintain and are just happy to survive,” said Kamegai when asked what the past 10 years were like managing the iconic establishment beside the Saipan lagoon.

As for their plans for the next 10 years, she’s optimistic that with the help of their loyal local customers, Oleai Beach Bar & Grill will thrive like never before.

“We’re always always grateful for our local customers. We know them by their first names and they also know our waitresses by name. I’m always thankful to have them around and I may not know all their names but I’m familiar with their faces. Sometimes they want to come for lunch, sometimes for dinner, and sometimes they start coming here during happy hour. Some even come with their kids and their kids play around on the beach and we always try to maintain the beach as clean as we can.”

Oleai Beach Bar & Grill is also quite active in the community and has hosted parties for the paddleboard community and Run Saipan members.  “We try to help them as much as we can.”

Ultimately, Kamegai also hopes to increase sales as more and more tourists come back to the CNMI.

“Some Koreans are back but we’re doubtful about the Chinese market. With Japanese tourists we still have to heavily rely on United Airlines’ direct flights. Those are a must for more Japanese tourists to come. We really have to wait and see what happens with that.”

Oleai Beach Bar & Grill can comfortably seat 40 inside with bar seating for another 10-15 customers. Patio seating is available for another 50 and even up to 100 for special occasions (with extra tables and seats).

Open everyday from 11am to 10pm, Oleai Beach Bar & Grill is located right on the beach across Downtown Market in San Jose.

For more information and for reservations, call (670) 234-0228, email say11122@yahoo.co.jp, or contact them via their Facebook page.