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TheBuzz
Erika Engle
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Hale Noa's successor Kapahulu Kafe plans to karry more than kava
TWO business partners are going to open a new Kapahulu kava house on the very spot where Hale Noa, a nearly seven-year-old kava bar, closed in March.
Daren Kimura and Jonathan Yee have teamed up to open Kapahulu Kafe, which will serve 'awa and more -- and, they hope, restore the community hang formerly offered by Hale Noa.
"Jon and I have been talking about doing some kind of a 'thing,'" Kimura said. He had wanted to do a full-blown restaurant, but that idea quickly fell by the wayside.
It seemed that in the late 1990s and earlier part of this decade, you couldn't throw a stick in Honolulu without hitting a kava bar, it was such a fad.
"What happened was, a lot of those who were serving 'awa, weren't serving much else. There's only so far you can go on a product like that," said Kimura.
Then worrisome medical reports surfaced and producers, and therefore supply, diminished -- and its status as the new rage practically disappeared from the mainstream.
About three years after Hale Noa opened, Diamond Head Cove Health Bar opened nearby, also offering kava, as well as smoothies, salads and other food items. It is still in business.
"They were a step in the right direction," Kimura said.
Kapahulu Kafe "is going to look similar to Hale Noa," Kimura said. "That's kind of what we wanted, sort of, your best friend's living room kind of thing."
The basic concept is to restore the gathering place, serve healthful snacks, salads, pupus, soft drinks and 'awa, which will be listed on the menu by its Hawaiian name, versus kava, which is how it is more widely known.
"But no alcohol. We're not going to encourage that by any stretch of the imagination," Kimura said.
Yee and Kimura are "trying to give an opportunity for the product to get more play," Kimura said.
The cafe also will feature a small country market, giving mom-and-pop farmers in Yee's circle of influence a venue to sell premium fruits, such as lychees "as big as golf balls," fresh 'olena (turmeric), rambutan and the powerfully aromatic, yet curiously beloved fruit known as durian, Kimura said.
"Fresh 'olena? You can't get that," Kimura said. "You can't find it." But Yee has connections.
"You don't fully appreciate what top-of-the-line fruit can be like until you see these kinds of things," Kimura said.
Kapahulu Kafe also will work to carry "small shop" cookies, fruit breads and other goodies from out-of-the-way producers.
Many of Hale Noa's previous supporters are encouraging Yee and Kimura in the new concept, which is a blessing, Kimura said. That list includes performers.
"We've been fortunate that a lot of musicians who played at Hale Noa are very interested in coming back again."
He also will showcase other types of artist work in the cafe, perhaps with a card and photo next to each piece, introducing the viewer to the artist.
Other elements of the cafe, such as Internet service, are being considered and weighed against the measure that "it has to be social and fun for everybody," Kimura said.
Kapahulu Kafe looks to have its soft opening toward the end of June with a formal grand opening in early or mid-July.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at:
eengle@starbulletin.com