New business Cae’s Smash and Grindz has a double meaning behind its name. The biz, which officially opened in July, was inspired by husband-and-wife team Clarence and Emi Coloma’s daughter.
“Cae’s was inspired by our daughter’s name, Caemila,” Emi Coloma explains. “It also stands for Clarence and Emi.
“It’s a true family effort,” she adds. “My husband is the culinary mind — he handles all the magic in the kitchen — and I work alongside him, running operations and handling everything behind the scenes. We started this together to share our love for great food with the community, and we’ve been growing as a team ever since.”
Coloma explains her husband's previous culinary roles included executive sous chef at Hilton Mission Valley in San Diego and deli manager at ABC Stores for Island Country Markets.
“He eventually became executive chef (in this role),” Coloma says. “His contributions included menu development, kitchen management, team training and crafting an array of local and international dishes.”
When deciding on a business concept, the Colomas wanted to take a classic American staple and elevate it with their own twist and local flavors.
“We wanted a menu item that’s fun, fast and pure comfort food — something everyone craves,” she says. “Smash burgers let us blend hands-on culinary passion with high energy, giving our community a bite that feels both familiar and special every time.”
The business features a variety of smashburgers with different toppings. All burgers feature double beef patties with the business’s signature ube brioche buns. Da bacon and mushroom smash ($19) is the business’s top seller and most popular order, according to Coloma. It features a double beef patty with bacon, mushrooms, grilled white onions, a Swiss and American cheese blend with garlic parmesan and aioli.
Da street banh mi smash is another fan favorite, according to Coloma. This burger includes grilled white onions, cilantro, pickled daikon radish and carrots, cilantro, cucumber, and a Swiss and American cheese blend with honey Sriracha aioli.
Other smash burger options include da jalapeno bacon smash ($19) — which includes grilled fresh jalapeno — and da island teri smash.
The biz has a regular pop-up at Makana Market at Ka Makana Aliʻi in Kapolei; Cae’s Smash and Grindz is there every Sunday (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and Wednesday (4 to 8 p.m.).
The biz also pops up at New Wave Night Market at the Kroc Center every fourth Friday for the month and at Pearlridge Center’s Village Night Market twice a month. Cae’s Smash and Grindz also recently did its first pop-up at What the Truck?! in Waikele last month.
“Our goal for our first year of business is to build deep roots in our local community and become a go-to favorite for comfort food done right,” Coloma says. “Besides serving great food at pop-ups, we want every event and catering order to feel like a community celebration.
“By God’s grace, as we grow, our ultimate vision is to expand into a permanent food truck so we can serve even more of our community every day,” she adds.
For updates, follow the business on Instagram.
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
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