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How Burlington Works

Every piece of art is inspired by a question, an idea, a story. For Burlington's newest work of public art, located at Burlington Crossroads (34 Cambridge St.), the story goes back more than 30 years.

"I am from Burlington," said artist Meredith Kasabian, stirring a can of pale blue paint next to a tropical scene that looks near complete. "I lived here until I was eighteen. And when I was a kid in the '80s, there used to be a restaurant right over there called the Royal Hawaiian."

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Kasabian points to where the craft store Michaels currently stands, a place many will remember as the Roche Bros. grocery store and some will remember as the retailer, Service Merchandise.

The Royal Hawaiian, whose menu and promotional materials (posted on Burlington Retro along with some other fun finds) boast Cantonese, Szechuan, and Polynesian fare, was a special place for Kasabian's family – the place they went for graduations and birthdays, and also where her parents sat the kids down to break the news of their divorce.

"It was a very special place," she said. "It was magical, because it had the pu pu platters with the flame and everything, and I just loved it." The Royal Hawaiian closed around 1996, but many locals look back fondly on the restaurant – skull mugs, tiki salt shakers, and Polynesian décor – as an experience all its own.

"It was the Chinese restaurant to go to, besides Sun Luck," says Jennifer Kadilak, who grew up in Burlington around the same time period.

Kasabian moved away from the area after high school but returned with now-husband and business partner Josh Luke in 2010 and opened the mural company Best Dressed Signs.

"We've done a lot of work for EDENS [the real estate development company that owns the Burlington Crossroads plaza]," Kasabian said, including pieces in Dorchester and Weymouth. "So when they asked us to do a mural here, I said, 'It has to be tiki-themed to pay homage to the Royal Hawaiian,' because it was such a special place for me growing up."

Luke designed the mural, said Kasabian, relying in part on the unique blend of memory and nostalgia she carries for the place. An ocean sunset, complete with a windsurfer riding the waves, forms the backdrop for a dining scene with an umbrella drink among a copse of palm trees, and, though Burlington has never been described as tropical, the mural weaves in the plaza's history in such a way that it makes perfect sense.

This is not the first Burlington mural Kasabian and Luke have designed and painted. They've also collaborated with The Nordblom Company on mural installations at 3rd Ave. This latest addition to Burlington's growing list of public artwork is expected to be completed this week, and residents and visitors will see it at the corner of Total Wine near Pure Hockey.

The Royal Hawaiian's flame may have gone out in 1996, but this summer, with the help of a native, it's getting relit – 21st century style.

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