Business owner Lani Yoshimura vividly remembers when pastry business Sachi Sweets first opened in November 2022.
“It was right about the ending of the Covid-19 pandemic, which was actually the reason why we started the business,” says Yoshimura, who runs the business with her husband, Keisuke Nishi. “We were first baking cakes for family and friends to order, then our dear friend gave us this great opportunity to be able to open a storefront in a location that we were interested in.”
“Sachi” has various meanings, one being “happiness,” according to Yoshimura, who says Nishi chose the business name based on that meaning.
“Another (meaning) is used as a reference to food; in Japan, ‘sachi’ is used when describing food from the mountain to the sea,” she says. “He (my husband) basically wanted to share the happiness of everyone being able to enjoy food and where it comes from.”
As its name implies, the biz continues to offer a variety of desserts. Treats range from cream puffs ($4.50) and tiramisu cups ($4) to parfaits ($7), strawberry cakes ($7) and souffle cheesecakes ($7). The cheesecakes, which are light, fluffy and subtly sweet, are one of the most popular desserts, with almond floats being a close second, according to Yoshimura.
Meanwhile, the cafe’s bento menu includes options like chicken karaage ($17), washugyu steak bento ($35) — which are limited to 10 per day — thick tonkatsu bento ($20) and roast meat don ($18). The latter is one of the most popular, according to Yoshimura, who says it includes sliced roast beef and pork atop sauteed spinach and shimeiji mushrooms in a bowl of rice with micro greens and a poached egg on top.
The fish bento ($28), consisting of three types of fish — misoyaki butterfish, king salmon and hamachi yuan yaki — is another customer favorite.
This past summer, the biz started a special Tuesday menu. It features specialty dishes you can only get on that day, including egg sandwiches ($6), katsu sandos ($10), musubis ($2.50) and gyu-don ($15).
“We decided to open on Tuesday because we actually wanted to open another day, but couldn’t, due to my other job schedule,” Yoshimura says. “This was the only option that we came up with. We wanted to offer a diffrerent menu to attract more customers.”
The egg salad sando ($6) is light, creamy and sufficiently eggy. It satisfies my craving for one of my favorite snacks in Japan. If you want something heartier, go for the meaty katsu sando ($10), which is thick and flavorful.
Besides its cafe hours, you can find Sachi Sweets at its monthly pop-up at Nordstrom in Ala Moana Center.
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CONTACT
Sachi Sweets
2080 S. King St. Ste. 102, Honolulu
808-722-8205
Instagram: @sachi_sweets1
Open 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesdays, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 3:30-6:30 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays
Closed Sundays-Mondays
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
