ASD Staff

Hawaiʻi Scene on Social

[{"text":"No need post bail, when cell phones exist in jail.","type":"text"}]

Firefly funny illustration of a bald man in prison giving advice on a cell phone 125937

<title>Hawai‘i Scene on Social: A comedy crime saga in two parts</title>

Today's social posts come from howsdisguy: Part one and two of talking story with your roughboy philosopher relative.

Hawai‘i Scene on Social: A comedy crime saga in two parts

No need post bail, when cell phones exist in jail.  

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Sports

Braddahhood and Sistahhood Grindz founder Ryan Tanaka fondly recalled a time where former University of Hawai‘i men's volleyball outside hitter Filip Humler approached him just as he was set to graduate from UH-Mānoa. 

Humler, whose collegiate volleyball career was hampered by injuries, knew he wasn't going to play professionally. The Czech Republic native desired to stay in the Islands, but needed a job in order to extend his visa. 

"I asked him, 'What's your dream job?' His dream job was working for Outrigger," Tanaka remembers from his conversation with Humler. "I called Outrigger, one of our participating corporate partners, and they made a job for him, an internship, and then three months later, they created a full-time position. It was his dream company. It was a dream job, and that was all created from Braddahhood Grindz. That was one of 25 stories that we now have across 10 teams."

Tanaka, the president and CEO of KAI Hawai‘i, Underground Services Inc., and the Giovanni Pastrami Restaurant Group, is also the founder of Braddahhood and Sistahhood Grindz, which launched in 2022. The idea was hatched from University of Hawai‘i football coach Timmy Chang asking local business owners for assistance in feeding his team. 

Braddahhood Grindz began as an organization that fed select UH teams once a month. It is now an all-encompassing operation that involves 25 restaurants and more than 50 corporate partners. In addition to feeding UH teams, it also serves as a name, image and likeness (NIL) collective for the school. With Humler as a prime example, the organization also assists with career placement. 

"It started out with nutrition. It just became so much more," Tanaka said. "It's actually now our way to recruit and retain Hawai‘i's top athletes for the home team. We meet closely with the coaches at the beginning of every season, we find out what more we can do to help support them. Every program has different needs, whether it's a new locker room, it could be training facilities, nutrition, the list goes on. And so how do they recruit with their limited budget, these top athletes nationally, globally?"

By NCAA law, NIL collectives are independent organizations that are not associated with a particular school, although they collaborate with them closely. 

"What we're trying to do is take this pool of resources that we have that is adjacent to the university and say, 'Hey, maybe you can come in and find new ways to attract these athletes.' Maybe not with matching dollar-for-dollar," Tanaka says. "Maybe we can provide community, provide team experiences. Provide jobs for them after college, because even if they play professionally, everybody who, even after they go on a special run, they'll need to find a job at some point. That's where we come in. That's where community comes in. 

"We're mentoring them from Day 1 and saying hey, here's how you guys can not just be a part of this program, on the court or on the field, but we can actually provide sponsors, because these are Hawai‘i's industry leaders, and then we can place you with them after you complete your athletic career."

On Tuesday, a press conference was held at Giovanni Pastrami in Waikīkī to announce Braddahhood and Sistahhood Grindz's new partnership with the Hawai‘i High School Athletics Association (HHSAA). Members of the Kamehameha and University Laboratory School boys volleyball teams, who won the 2024 HHSAA Division I and Division II titles respectively, were commemorated and treated to a meal.

"The high school students today, they're getting a drawstring bag with a letter. In the letter, there's $125 of gift cards to four different restaurants," Tanaka said of the gift bundle, which also includes signed copies of Rusty Komori's latest book, "Superior."

"Usually after every kickoff event, the college players will also receive several thousands of dollars in different gifts and giveaways as part of an NIL agreement," Tanaka continued. "On the flip side, it's a job, so their job is to help thank and promote these different participating companies."

Despite Braddahhood and Sistahhood Grindz's support of University of Hawai‘i athletes, members of the Kamehameha and University boys volleyball teams were on the receiving end of Tuesday's gifts are not obligated to attend UH. 

"This is probably the first time these high school students (in Hawai‘i) are receiving anything from an NIL collective," Tanaka acknowledged. 

UH acting athletics director Lois Manin, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, Kamehameha director of campus athletics and human performance Rob Hesia, University Laboratory School athletics director Walt Quitan, ‘Ahahui Koa Ānuenue and Nā Koa Football Club president David Kawada, Luther Beck of the HHSAA and Tanaka all spoke at the event. 

In his address to attendees of Tuesday's event, Tanaka said Braddahhood and Sistahhood Grindz could only thrive in a place like Hawai‘i. 

When asked if she agreed with Tanaka's contention, Manin joked that "there's no 'braddahhood' or 'sistahhood' anywhere else, right?" 

"But, yeah. We're on an island and we're away from everybody else, but I believe only in Hawai‘i are you going to have the aloha from everyone to all the companies to come together for the greater good of the community," Manin continued. "I do believe that only in Hawai‘i can something like this survive.

"(Braddahhood Grindz) started from a need for nutrition for football, and then it expanded into this. It has grown into this huge opportunity for our student-athletes. I think the thing I like about it is that it aligns with the original collegiate model of academics and then enter into the workforce. I think that the way that (Tanaka) has grown it has been super creative, and the way that he's committed to it, and he's so selfless, the way that he doesn't make any money off of it. He's just trying to help build a community. That's awesome."

Collegiate athletes weren't permitted to make NIL money until the summer of 2021. This summer, more landmark changes are coming to collegiate sports. 

The NCAA-House settlement is still in progress, but plans are in place for Power Four schools to begin revenue sharing among student-athletes. An NIL clearinghouse is also in the works in which every NIL deal worth over $600 is vetted as a legitimate endorsement and not a pay-for-play inducement. 

"We're doing our best to get comfortable in the new landscape," Manin said. "We are preparing for the House settlement approval, which hasn't happened yet, but we are trying to put a staff together. We're trying to put a structure together to be able to do revenue sharing with our student-athletes, if allowed, on July 1, but we just don't know yet, because it hasn't really happened. But everybody is preparing for that, so I think that we're in good shape. We just need to figure out how to really triage all the funds and make sure that we're doing everything legally and compliant."

Ryan Tanaka 043025

<title>Braddahhood and Sistahhood Grindz evolves with new landscape to support Hawai‘i athletes</title>

An event was held at Giovanni Pastrami on Tuesday afternoon to commemorate a first-of-its-kind name, image and likeness (NIL) deal for local high school athletes.

Braddahhood and Sistahhood Grindz evolves with new landscape to support Hawai‘i athletes

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Business & Tourism

Government & Politics

West O‘ahu entrepreneurs, get your ideas ready — a new small business incubator program from the City and County of Honolulu's Office of Economic Revitalization can help transform them into reality.

Idea2Biz is a 13-week cohort-style program —  targeting aspiring entrepreneurs from the Wai‘anae Coast — that aims to turn "entrepreneurial ideas into viable businesses through mentorship, education and resources facilitated by experienced business professionals," the city said in an announcement Tuesday.

According to the city, 20 participants will each receive specialized weekly training sessions covering a variety of topics; personalized mentorship; access to OER's O‘ahu Business Connector network and partners; guidance on business registration, banking relationships and market positioning; and will be eligible to receive at least $1,250 in early-stage funding upon completing the program.

OER Executive Director Amy Asselbaye said in the announcement that the program represents office's "commitment to fostering economic growth from the ground up."

In an email exchange with Aloha State Daily, Asselbaye said the Idea2Biz program stems from priorities set by the Economic Revitalization Commission, under the 

O‘ahu Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Plan

"The commission, comprised of O‘ahu residents with expertise in small business, finance, sustainable economics and community development, saw a clear need to help people — especially in distressed communities — get the training and support they need to start or grow their own small businesses," she said.

West O‘ahu was chosen for the pilot cohort because data shows a strong need for economic development in the Wai‘anae Coast communities, according to Asselbaye.

"Federal and state data indicate that unemployment rates in the area are twice as high and median incomes are lower than the rest of O‘ahu," she said. "That is why it is important to start the pilot cohort there — to bring meaningful entrepreneurial training with local resource providers into the community. Looking ahead, OER plans to expand and adapt the program to multiple locations around the island."

Small businesses are a critical part of the local economy. Asselbaye says they make up 99% businesses on O‘ahu and employ more than half of the state's workforce.

"When local people start and grow their businesses, they create jobs in their communities, strengthen and diversify O‘ahu's economy, and give back to the communities where they do business," she said. "OER is working to build a strong economy using real-world data and stories to create programs that improve the quality of life for every community, small business and ‘ohana."

According to Asselbaye, the program will be operated with city general funds.

The application period for Idea2Biz opens Thursday and will close on June 2. Apply online at 

The program will run June 17 through Sept. 13, and will culminate with a graduation ceremony where participants can showcase their new businesses.

In-person professional development workshops will be held Tuesdays at the Kalanihoʻokahā Community Learning Center in Nānākuli.

According to the city, program partners include the Waiʻanae Economic Development Council, Patsy T. Mink Center for Business & Leadership, XLR8, Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, Hawaiʻi USA Federal Credit Union and Pakini Loan Fund. 

Shop open sign/unsplash

<title>Honolulu to launch its first small business incubator program</title>

Applications will open this week for Idea2Biz, a 13-week cohort-style program that will initially target aspiring entrepreneurs from O‘ahu's Wai‘anae Coast.

Honolulu to launch its first small business incubator program

Lopaka and Tanya Kapanui

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui

Hawaii History

Columnists

In September 2020, during the COVID-19 era, after the state had just started allowing a small number of people to gather for outdoor events, our company decided to bring a virtual tour to Fort Street Mall. A few people were able to join us in person, while over a hundred guests from the continental U.S., Canada, England, Germany, and New Zealand signed on to tour with us via Zoom.

Our meeting place and the start of the tour was Walker Park, the triangular park at the bottom of Fort Street Mall, where Queen Street meets Nimitz Highway. My wife and I got there an hour early, looked around a bit, and began to discuss some of the area’s history with some friends who showed up early.

According to old maps, Walker Park and the Topa Financial Center building adjacent to the park are standing upon land that used to be Fort Kekuanohu, also known as the Old Fort or Honolulu Fort. 

In the early 1800s, Hawai‘i was a key stop for ships making their way across the Pacific. In 1815, King Kamehameha I granted permission for a group of Russian traders to build a storehouse near Honolulu Harbor. However, they decided to construct a fort instead and even raised the Russian flag. Once Kamehameha got wind of their deception, he sent several ali‘i to have them removed. 

The governor of O‘ahu at that time was John Adams Kuakini, who rebuilt the fort and extended the walls. It enclosed about two acres and was the largest structure in Hawai‘i at the time. It was meant to defend Honolulu Harbor, and accounts say it had 52 canons mounted upon its high walls. The heavy wooden gate of the stronghold faced what is now called Fort Street, right along the Queen Street crosswalk.

In addition to protecting Honolulu Harbor, the fort was also the administrative center of the kingdom, housing the governor’s office and residence, a barracks, a guard house, a prison, and a gallows. 

The first two hangings in Hawai‘i were Kamanawa, a high-ranking ali‘i and the grandfather of King Kalākaua and Queen Lili‘uokalani, along with his accomplice Lonopuakau. In 1840, they were tried and found guilty of the murder of Kamanawa’s wife, Kamokuiki. The gallows were erected above the gate of the Old Fort to be easily seen from a distance. There are old newspaper references to other hangings conducted over the gate of the fort until an 1856 reference describes the gallows being erected within the fort’s walls. Old paintings from around the same time show the gallows inside the fort between two buildings along the southeast wall, right around where the northern Topa Financial Center building, aptly named the Fort Street Tower, is now. 

We finished the conversation on that note and started to prepare for the tour when I suddenly realized I had to use the restroom, and it couldn’t wait til after. I walked into the Topa building, turned toward the elevators, and a curious thing happened. Somehow, I got lost in the building. 

I walked around and around, but all the doors and walls looked the same. I began to get stressed because I was in a hurry to get back and prepare for the tour. I realized there was a humming sound that I couldn’t place. I didn’t think it was there before, but I told myself that I could be mistaken. It had been too long already. I walked faster, past doors, past dark windows, past empty hallways. I felt my heartbeat quicken a bit. After sitting at home at my desk these past several months, I wasn’t used to this much exercise. I was confused and worried that I would be late for the tour, but I continued to wander as the minutes ticked by. 

After about a half hour, I reached into my pocket for my phone. I had to call my wife to let her know what was happening. Then, I turned a corner that I passed through at least a dozen times, and my wife was right there. I was in the lobby near the doors where I entered the building. I paused for a second, just staring at my wife.

[{"text":"“Are you ready?” she asked.","type":"text"}]

I was flustered, “What happened? Are we late? Did you check on the group?”

Her brow furrowed, and she looked at me as if I had lost my mind. I explained what happened, still wondering why she wasn’t rushing me out the door. I told her I had to have been gone at least half an hour. She shook her head and said that I was hardly even gone a few minutes.

[{"text":"“We still have twenty minutes before we start,” she said.","type":"text"}]

We walked out the doors, got set up, and completed the tour. By all accounts, it went well. The live Zoom experience was successful, and people from all over signed in for a virtual tour of Fort Street Mall. It was definitely a fun evening, but what happened earlier was still on my mind.

One year later, almost to the week, a man contacted me about something that had happened to him. He asked if I ever told this story, I would leave his name out.

In a fit of frustration at four o’clock in the morning, my friend found himself sitting on a concrete bench at Walker Park, at the foot of Fort Street Mall. He was there to clear his head because he couldn’t sleep. As he described it, the night was at its darkest; the streets were empty, and the sounds of the city had fallen asleep. 

Suddenly, there was a humming sound, and then it seemed like all the elements, dark and light, male and female, past and present, intersected to become one. He said he witnessed Hawaiians dressed in ancient garb moving about their day while cars from the 1950s or ’60s made their way along Nimitz Highway. The people saw him and began to approach, so he stood and turned to leave, but what he witnessed was disconcerting. 

The buildings around him weren’t the same. They were newer, taller. Different. Everything was different, as if he was seeing a Downtown Honolulu that didn’t yet exist. Fort Street Mall was now a two-way street. Stores were converted to apartments. The houseless people camping in the dark corners were gone, and the area was bright and shiny like a new Waikīkī. Then, it was gone in a flash, and the silence returned. 

The man ran to get out of there as quickly as he could, but what he witnessed stayed with him. He said he couldn’t shake the overwhelming feeling of wanting to return. He told me that he’d let me know what he found, but I haven’t heard from him.

There’s something strange about that park and that building. Maybe it’s haunted, maybe not. But it’s definitely strange. 

Topa Tower

<title>Lost Time at Topa Tower</title>

Weird experiences at the site of the former Honolulu Fort suggest that the boundaries between past, present and future might be porous.

Lost Time at Topa Tower

Food & Dining

For some entrepreneurs looking to expand and grow their small food- or drink-focused businesses, the ‘Āina to Mākeke program has changed the game.

The 12-week program is offered through the Leeward Community College Office of Workforce Development and the Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center in collaboration with the Hawai‘i Ag and Culinary Alliance. It aims to help participants scale up their food businesses.

Caleigh Dillon, owner of Waialua-based Pineapple Road Beverage Co., is part of the program's most recent cohort, Cohort 5. Her company brews a non-alcoholic, probiotic cocktail inspired by tepache, a traditional Mexican drink, and made with fermented pineapple and other local produce and botanicals.

[{"text":"She's in the early stages of commercializing the business.","type":"text"}]

"I think beverages, especially something that's fermented and carbonated and packaged, ready-to-drink, are very challenging, particularly because we have limited infrastructure on island," Dillon, who was raised in Kentucky, told Aloha State Daily during a recent visit to the WVAPDC. "But there are also a lot of people who are really eager to help when they hear that you're trying to make something cool and unique and different out here. This program, the ‘Āina to Mākeke program, has been, honestly, world-changing for me, for the business."

Dillon says it's been helpful to connect with others in the community who are doing similar things and can offer feedback. And the program's instructor, Christiane Bolosan-Yee also has brought in specialists from different areas of food production, branding and packaging.

It's been a lot to cover in just three months, she said, adding that she'll be working on many of the things that have come up during the program for months to come.

"But it's been a really great structure and community to help me make a lot of changes really quickly in the business, and also just feel more connected and more confident in what the next steps are. I think sometimes, as an entrepreneur, that is almost the most daunting thing, where you just feel like you're out in the void and you don't know what the next step is and how to take it. The program has been really helpful in kind of giving me that roadmap."

[{"text":"One of her primary goals in participating was to figure out packaging.","type":"text"}]

So far, Dillon says she's been selling her beverages from kegs and a tap at pop-ups, but she's often asked where else people can buy it or when it will be available in a four- or six-pack.

She's been struggling to find a packaging solution. A canning line, for instance, she says, is a "really expensive, big piece of equipment" that can be cost prohibitive for those starting out.

"It's been hard to figure out how to break into the packaging space for something that is carbonated and needs to be in a pressurized bottle or can," Dillion explained. "That was the first thing that I came into the program really wanting to find a solution for and our solution, for now, is glass bottles, which I'm actually really thrilled about. The glass is expensive, but the process of filling and capping them is a lot easier and a lot more low-tech, so it's something that I think is accessible to me as I'm starting out and growing to a mid-tier level until you can to the place where you can afford larger industrial equipment."

She's also recently finished a rebrand, something she came into the program thinking about.

Janee Gutierrez, founder of Madres Churros, is another member of Cohort 5. The company offers gluten-free and vegan churros, including ones made using locally sourced poi, and is working to develop a frozen packaged line of churros.

[{"text":"She learned about the program while touring the WVAPDC last July.","type":"text"}]

"It was so new — they were still unpacking mixers and supplies," she told ASD in an email. "I saw a flyer for the program at the front desk and asked when applications would open. I already knew I wanted to package my churros and get them into grocery stores."

A second-generation Mexican American, Gutierrez told ASD that she was raised in San Diego, but spent weekends in Los Angeles where her grandma and parents ran a mariscos food truck — her first experience in entrepreneurship.

[{"text":"Madres Churros began as Madre Churros and Cacao in San Diego in 2019.","type":"text"}]

Gutierrez says she served vegan churros with chocolate made from cacao nibs from a small farm in Mexico, but two months into the endeavor she was diagnosed with a gluten intolerance that prompted her to create a gluten-free and vegan recipe.

"We were gaining momentum at local farmers markets and started booking catering gigs, when the [Covid-19] pandemic forced us to shut down," she continued. "During that time, I visited O‘ahu to see my mom and something, maybe my intuition, told me to stay. It was strange because I always knew I was going to live here, I just knew it wasn't my time yet."

Within six months, though, Gutierrez moved to the island and worked in the restaurant industry until last April.

In September 2024, she rebranded and opened Madres Churros and has since worked with local businesses and introduced a new recipe using locally sourced poi.

She began doing pop-ups, but while working at the Lonohana tasting room in Kaka‘ako, Gutierrez met another entrepreneur who participated in the program.

"I asked him if the program was worth it for someone wanting to create a [consumer-packaged goods] product, and he said yes — then connected me with my now-teacher, Christiane," she said. "I'm super grateful I got in. It really feels like I'm finally moving closer to my dream I've had for Madres!"

For Gutierrez, the ‘Āina to Mākeke program has been a "game changer."

"Since I had the dream of packaging my churros, I didn't know where to start and would get overwhelmed with the idea. The program helped break it all down — costing, marketing, packaging, branding."

But the community created by the program has been just as important, Gutierrez says.

"Being part of a cohort with other small business owners who are also figuring things out has been so encouraging," she told ASD. "We all support  each other, share ideas and celebrate the wins together. It doesn't feel like I'm doing this alone — at times I would feel alone."

[{"text":"The team at the facility has been \"incredible,\" too, she says.","type":"text"}]

"Everyone’s been so supportive and genuinely wants to see us succeed. It’s given me the confidence, tools, and resources to take Madres from a pop-up to a product I can actually imagine on grocery store shelves. I finally feel like this dream is becoming real."

Gutierrez believes that programs like ‘Āina to Mākeke give small businesses in Hawai‘i "a shot at growing in a sustainable way on the island."

[{"text":"It breaks concepts down and \"makes it feel way more doable.\"","type":"text"}]

"It can be tough to figure out how to scale, especially when it comes to sourcing equipment, navigating packaging rules, sourcing ingredients or just knowing where to start," she says. "Even though I'm not at the stage yet where I need big machines, it's nice to know there's a place I can go when I'm ready to take that step."

Cohort 5culminates this week with a showcase from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 30, at the Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center, 1001 California Ave. The free event is open to the public and will include free samples from the 15 businesses in the cohort as well as refreshments from previous participants and more. RSVP by emailing VAPDC@hawaii.edu.

Chris Bailey, manager of the WVAPDC, said the ‘Āina to Mākeke program did two cohorts of 15 in both 2023 and 2024, and will do a total of three cohorts this year. Cohort 6 will be announced in early May while the third cohort will be offered around the fall.

Dillon encourages anyone with an idea, "if you've got some little thing that's kind of tickling at your mind," to visit the WVAPDC.

"You see all the possibilities. It kind of is inspiring. It gives you ideas, then knowing that this framework is here, I think it also makes the idea of giving it a shot less daunting because there is a place that has the equipment to help you and the people to help you."

WVAPDC, which opened just over a year ago, is a 33,000-square-foot food manufacturing facility that aims to aid in the growth of the state's agricultural industry and entrepreneurial community through educational programs; offering more opportunities for local growers to sell their products to value-added producers; and offering local entrepreneurs to access to "small business resources, production kitchens and in-house product and process development," its 

WVAPDC itself is a project of LCC and the state, built at a cost of $21.6 million, according to 

Bailey said the facility includes about 12,000 square feet of production floor space. About 10 businesses have been onboarded to use the facility and another 40 in the queue, a number of which are coming from ‘Āina to Mākeke, he said.

According to a recent announcement, since opening last April, the facility has served more than 1,000 entrepreneurs, farmers and students.

"We're committed to launching and growing the next waves of iconic Hawaii food and beverage brands, again using local ag as a means to support our farming industry going to the future," Bailey said.

[{"text":"Contact","type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}]}]

Pineapple Road Beverage Co. is currently on tap at Jorge's Mexican Restaurant and Bar in Haleiwa and will have a tap truck debut at the 

 in June. The company can be found on Instagram at @drinkpineappleroad.

Madres Churros offers catering and is expanding to wholesale. Email aloha@madreschurros.com for more info. The company can also be found on Instagram at @madreschurros.

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