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ASD Staff

Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

[{"text":"Brevenchym shows the way — but the mist, brevenchym! The mist!","type":"text"}]

Shoyu pack

<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: The shoyu hack</title>

Culinary advice from the world of local social media.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: The shoyu hack

Brevenchym shows the way — but the mist, brevenchym! The mist! 

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros Headshot

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

Aloha Spirit

Business & Tourism

Isaiah Corpus, a 25-year-old who grew up in Waiʻanae, said that he knew as a teenager that he wanted to run his own retail store someday.

“I am the first member of my family to have a store on my own and am proud to have started this business by myself,”

I’ve always been an ocean and beach enthusiast: I taught myself to surf and kayak. I helped at beach cleanups and always want to give back to the ocean and marine life. That’s how I created my business.”

About a year ago, Corpus hatched the plan for 

Shop Kainalu, a Hawaiʻi inspired lifestyle and apparel brand, set to open this spring in Seattle, where he has lived since 2024. 

Corpus added that the initial investment for the venture came from his savings.

He said he took a few business classes and met mentors and coaches, who helped with the paperwork like applying for a state business license.

“I didn’t realize how long it would take to retrieve, but despite that, it all worked out in the end,” he said. "Iʻm excited to have my business out there and to launch soon."

While his primary job is with Hawaiian Airlines, Corpus said, he currently operates a one-man shop, overseeing the fashion and graphic design elements of its products, as well as the renovation of the new space in Seattle's University District, which is expected “to take a couple more months.”

The store is slated to open in May, with a traditional Hawaiian blessing, he said. Other priorities for Corpus ahead of the launch include working on finalizing the website (currently down), hand drawing more designs to ramp up inventory, while recruiting brand ambassadors and, eventually, a team for the store.

When asked what makes Shop Kainalu stand out, he told ASD, “I use eco-friendly materials such as organic cotton, recycled fabrics and renewable textiles that reduce waste, preserve resources and eliminate harmful chemicals, embracing innovative, slow impact production methods for my store. I want to ensure that every clothing item I make not only elevates modern style but also protects the ocean.”

The brand will soon offer tees, totes, swimwear, and a range of other everyday essentials for men, women, and the home, according to 

The biz’s name in Native Hawaiian means ocean wave, which he says “integrates my purpose behind my story. … On a personal level, [I'm] always surfing, going to the beach, so when you shop at my store, you shop to care for the environment, that’s how the name came up.”

In Seattle, he continues to volunteer at cleanups and noted that a portion of the proceeds from the shop with go toward local ocean conservation groups and nonprofits.  

As a new small business owner, Corpus said he’s "still in the learning process" but has already found support from Seattle- and Hawaiʻi-owned small businesses alike. 

Interested in connecting with Corpus? Email 

His plans for the future include opening up another retail store in the Islands. Fun fact: White Plains Beach in ʻEwa Beach is a must-visit whenever Corpus comes home, which is usually monthly.

i culture and community continue to shape who I am and what I build," he said. “Even while living on the continent, Hawai

i remains at the center of my work and purpose. This journey reflects many Hawai

i people building something away from home while staying deeply connected.”

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

Isaiah Corpus 16x9

<title>Small business owner with Hawaiʻi roots to open first store in Seattle</title>

Born and raised on Oʻahu, Isaiah Corpus plans to launch Shop Kainalu, a Hawaiʻi inspired lifestyle and apparel brand, in Washington where he now lives. Corpus, a self-described ocean and beach enthusiast from Waiʻanae, discusses the details leading up to its spring debut, as well as his hope to open another retail store in his island home.

Small business owner with Hawaiʻi roots to open first store in Seattle

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

[{"type":"text","text":"There’s a new all-you-can-eat sushi spot in Honolulu."}]

Sumo AYCE Sushi recently opened in Azure Ala Moana. It’s located in the former space of Debu (the new restaurant sign isn't up yet). The all-you-can-eat experience costs $26.95 per person during lunch (Mondays to Thursdays) and $36.95 for the all-day menu.

The eatery is originally from Las Vegas; this is its first Hawai

i store. Since it’s in its soft opening, only walk-ins are accepted (no reservations).

The restaurant is currently open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (last seating at 9 p.m.; last call for the kitchen is at 9:45 p.m.). There’s a 90-minute time limit for the all-you-can-eat experience. If customers leave leftover rice, they will be charged.

Customers also have the option to order a la carte, if they don’t feel like doing AYCE. All members of the same dining party must choose the same experience (either all-you-can-eat or a la carte). 

The menu features a variety of nigiri, appetizers, sushi rolls and all-day specials like salmon carpaccio, lobster garlic bread, poke nachos and more.

On the AYCE menu, certain dishes — like uni nigiri, ama ebi nigiri and salmon cut center steak — can only be ordered once.

Recommended appetizers include KFC — Korean fried chicken with Korean sweet and spicy sauce — chicken karaage and crispy rice. The latter features crispy rice topped with spicy tuna, jalapeno, garlic ponzu, spicy mayo and eel sauce.

Popular nigiri so far include seared salmon and yuzu yellowtail nigiri. Classic nigiri options include tuna, shrimp, yellowtail and more.

Choose from unique options like corn cheese garlic bread, bulgogi garlic bread and lobster garlic bread. The latter features soft garlic bread topped with crab, lobster, mozzarella cheese, eel sauce, spicy mayo and scallions.

While filling up on carbs is not usually recommended for AYCE experiences, these breads are trying at least once and are easy to share.

Customers can choose from a variety of four-piece and eight-piece sushi rolls; there are more than 40 options. Popular options include the Chanel roll (shrimp tempura, spicy crab and avocado topped with tuna and salmon); Lisa Lisa roll (shrimp tempura, avocado, crab and cream cheese topped with tempura crunch and eel sauce); and the lemon salmon roll (crab and avocado topped with salmon, lemon and ponzu).

End with desserts like honeydew or ube Melona bars, or vanilla mochi ice cream.

Customer parking is available at Azure Ala Moana; look for the designated retail parking stalls within the structure.

Open daily, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (last seating at 9 p.m.)

Sumo AYCE Sushi dinner spread 122925

<title>New all-you-can-eat sushi spot opens in Honolulu</title>

Sumo AYCE Sushi just opened in Azure Ala Moana. The eatery — originally from Las Vegas — offers an extensive all-you-can-eat menu, along with an a la carte menu.

New all-you-can-eat sushi spot opens in Honolulu

 is opening soon in Kapolei Commons. Its soft opening is coming soon (no exact date given yet), while its grand opening will be in January 2026.

The bakery is located by Massage Envy and Verizon Wireless (in the former space of Teriyaki Madness) in the shopping center.

This is the Japanese-style bakery’s sixth location on O‘ahu, but this store is different because it’ll have a larger menu, according to business owner Alberto Fernandez.

“This is the sixth location, but it’s not easier than any of the other ones before,” says Fernandez, who co-owns BRUG Bakery with his wife, Miho Choi Fernandez. “Now, we have more experience; we hope to do better overall as a team, to be organized and deliver a beautiful, high-quality product from day one. It’s a lot of feelings and emotions — stress, happiness, and excitement — all at once.”

The bakery is known for its soft breads made with high-quality ingredients, including flour from Hokkaido, Japan. The bread doughs are made daily by hand. BRUG makes more than 70 pastries each day.

At the new location, customers can find signature pastries like beef curry pan, Kuma choco custard, melon pan, neko pan filled with original strawberry buttercream and more.

“We’ll have melon pan, custard pan, all the ones that made BRUG famous in Hawaiʻi, as well as our loaves of bread,” Fernandez confirms.

He says the bakery’s Arabiki sausage roll, monkey bread, custard pan, melon pan, bacon epi and curry pan are some of the best-selling pastries. Eventually, the Kapolei store will have location-exclusive pastries, too.

Speaking of exclusive products, the Kapolei store will be the only one (for now) to offer Kuma-inspired cakes.

“We are not going to make custom-order mini cakes,” Fernandez clarifies. “We just wanted to create a product that can become very BRUG, something that — the same way when you see the Kuma (bear) chocolate — people think more about BRUG. We are very Kuma-inspired.”

Cakes will be made daily at the Kapolei store. Customers can look forward to desserts like strawberry shortcake, strawberry mousse cake, chocolate mousse cake, cream cheese panna cotta, strawberry panna cotta, custard cream puffs and more. Prices for the cakes, panna cottas and cream puffs are not yet available.

The store will also feature an expanded drink line-up, according to Fernandez.

“This is the first location where we are doing a full coffee shop drink menu,” he says. “For the other stores, we added hot coffee, then we started adding cold brews, then we started to have matcha. We started espresso-based drinks at Pearlridge and Manoa (stores). This one (Kapolei) has the full barista menu with hot and cold drinks.”

Customers can look forward to Kapolei-exclusives frappes — in flavors like mango, Chai, matcha and strawberry banana — and specialty drinks like strawberry matcha and strawberry milk. Fernandez expects the latter two to be especially popular.

“The strawberry matcha uses the same strawberry milk that we do at (our sister business) Mana Sandwiches,” he says. “It’s made with real strawberry puree.”

Opening in West Oʻahu has been a longtime goal, according to Fernandez, who says he’s “really excited” for the soft opening.

“I like hanging around here, even though I live in town and enjoy town,” he says. “The vibe is just different. It’s a drive-to destination, so that’s why this location is bigger and has more options.

“To me, community building is so important; I have confidence that it’s going to be a good addition,” he adds.

Once the bakery launches, it will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

BRUG Bakery Kapolei Alberto 122625

<title>BRUG Bakery to open soon in Kapolei</title>

This is sixth location for BRUG Bakery, which is known for its soft breads and pastries made with high-quality flour from Hokkaido, Japan. The Kapolei location features exclusive cakes and an extended drink menu. The bakery’s soft opening will be soon; its grand opening will be in January 2026.

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Authors

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