For Steph Maldonado, business owner of Hideaway Coffeeshop, coming up with a name for her store was easy. Her husband owns Hideaway Barbershop, which is connected to the coffee shop by a shelf-like door.
“Many people that notice it (our coffee shop) say it’s like a speakeasy-like coffee shop,” Maldonado says. “Our friends own the tattoo shop in front of the building (here in Wahiawā); the opportunity came for the barber shop to open in the back about three years ago. Later on, the small space for the coffee shop became available, too, and we went for it.”
While customers won’t see the coffee shop immediately from the street, follow the signs toward the barber shop entrance to find the cozy space.
“My husband owns the barber shop, our friends own the tattoo shop, and there’s a skate shop in here,” Maldonado summarizes. “It (this space) really gives collective vibes. It’s really good; during summer or after school, kids can come and the parents can sit here and have coffee.”
The business started as a coffee cart and later moved into the café space.
“It’s tucked away, truly a hideaway,” Maldonado says. “Everyone that finds us points out how fitting of a name it is. It’s a place to slow down, talk story and also find cool local artists, crafts and retail items. We also sell specialty coffee beans from Sur Coffee, a well-known roaster/coffee shop from Southern California.”
The menu features drinks ranging from lattes and housemade cold brews to matcha lattes and yuzu lemonades. Prices vary depending on syrups.
“Our menu has a classic feel, but is very customizable, with some key special items,” Maldonado says. “We have homemade syrups like strawberry, banana, blueberry and raspberry. Our most popular has to be our banana bread syrup, which is used in coffee as well as matcha.
“I didn’t want to make a really big specialty latte menu and have it be overwhelming,” she adds. “We have a small selection of specialty items for each season. All year, you can customize (your drink) to have whatever cold foam you want, with whatever base you want — matcha, coffee or cold brew.”
The coffee shop is currently featuring a summer menu that includes a s’mores latte, chocolate haupia latte, white chocolate cold brew with strawberry cold foam, and mystic yuzu lemonade. Summer drinks start at $10, according to Maldonado.
The s’mores latte features a chocolate mocha with toasted marshmallow cold foam and graham crackers. Meanwhile, the chocolate haupia latte is a mocha with coconut condensed milk cold foam and a shortbread crumble.
Maldonado also recommends trying the Wahiawā Fog, which is “picking up in popularity for its uniqueness.”
“It’s a new take on a London Fog, with stone-ground earl grey — which is prepared as matcha (powder, warm water and whisked) — served with milk, lavender and vanilla,” she explains. “It’s a very special drink, served hot or iced.”
Maldonado says kid-friendly drinks — including fruit-flavored lemonade and chocolate milk — are also available. The shop also features a rotating selection of pastries.
“Our pastries are nostalgic,” she says. “The most popular are our chocolate chip cookies with flaky sea salt. We rotate our muffins; we’re currently serving peach blueberry muffins. We add another fun pastry on the weekends, like a fruit bar or double chocolate brownies.”
The coffee shop’s summer menu will be available until August, according to Maldonado. Around that time, different seasonal drinks will be featured.
“We’ll switch into a more transitionary, back-to-school type of menu with (drinks like) peanut butter and jelly lattes,” she says. “I’m very nostalgic with flavors. I like things to be simple, but exciting at the same time.
“We see ourselves as the future ‘mom and pop shop,’ which still adding a fun, modern take on it,” she adds.
Maldonado recommends looking for street parking along Kamehameha Highway or on Ohai Street (behind the shop). She says there is also a municipal lot across the street from the shop (by the bus stop).
CONTACT
Hideaway Coffeeshop
177 S. Kamehameha Hwy., Wahiawā
Instagram: @hideaway.coffeehi
Open 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
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Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
