Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

Ube ‘ulu hash. Protein soba salad. Miso chicken. These are some of the unique offerings you’ll find at recently opened 

The Waialua-based biz soft opened at the beginning of July, according to business owner 

“Nani’s Café was inspired by a desire to bring back some old country charm — reminiscent of my hanabata days — to my hometown of Waialua/Haleʻiwa while filling a need that I saw in food service,” she says.

The idea of starting a healthy, locally inspired grab-and-go location came to Oury in 2005.

“I traveled to Venice Beach [California] and went to an eatery that had a café/bistro vibe,” she says. “They focused their cuisine on locally sourced and inspired food. It was a real ‘a-ha’ moment for me, and I began going down the rabbit hole of how I could translate that into something that could service our local community here in Hawaiʻi, while honoring the mix-plate culture of Hawaiʻi’s plantation past.”

It wasn’t until 2020 — 15 years later — that Oury began seriously considering the idea. She had recently lost her job as a restaurant manager, and recalls sharing her idea while being cooped up at home — like most of the community — due to Covid-19 restrictions.

“I shared my idea with my aunty Kanani, and she said if I ever did it, she would want to be part of it,” Oury says. “That was the first time someone outside of my home said they believed in my idea enough to pitch in."

From 2020 forward, Oury waited patiently for the perfect opportunity for a business space. 

“Last year, the Gilman Family Trust listed this small space up for rent; I fell in love,” she says. “The space is in my hometown, in a space that used to be a gathering place for our plantation community and is blanketed in deep, local ties and history, with a backdrop of Mount Ka’ala. It was perfect.

“The space needed to honor Waialua Town,” she adds. “We paid attention to all the details in color, design and décor. The space is regularly outfitted with tropical flowers from the farms of Carol Gilman, grandchild of Hannah Gilman, the founder of the Waialua Shopping Center and a cornerstone of Waialua town’s past.”

Wanting to honor the 2020 discussion she had with her aunt, Oury reached out to her aunt Kanani and “Nani’s Café” was born. The business is rooted in local cuisine and locally sourced ingredients, and features dishes served with a health-conscious approach 

meaning less oil, less frying, and more vegetarian options.

“I started with a single piece of paper that I tore from our lease and began drafting what Nani’s would be,” Oury says. “My other half has been vegetarian his whole life, and there was a desperate need to offer a place where we both could be happy. The hope was to remind people that this place is still rooted and allow them to enjoy their favorites, but also inspire them to try something that could help with their health.”

The café’s soft opening menu comprises 35 items, ranging from kalbi beef ($3.75) and corned beef ‘ulu hash ($2.75) to plant-based options like kale salad ($3), tofu musubi ($2.50) and chow funn ($3.50).

“There is so much to choose from, and everyone has different favorites,” Oury says. “One of the stars of the show is our chow funn — we spent a lot of time perfecting the made-from-scratch sauce. Another is our Pono sweet potato salad and kale salad, paired together with any of our proteins. It has people that would never eat kale coming back again and again.”

Oury says the protein soba salad ($10) is her personal favorite.

“It has all the ʻono flavor, but it’s completely vegan with miso-glazed tofu, sesame braised soybeans and sea asparagus,” she says. “It’s delicious, chilled and light, perfect for this hot weather.

“The food, while ‘ono, is healthier than you would imagine,” she adds. “Take the ‘ulu corned beef has or ube ‘ulu hash, made with locally sourced ‘ulu and finished on our flattop instead of a fryer — no oils except the naturally occurring goodness. The shoyu hot dog is an all-beef hot dog.”

If you’re overwhelmed by the choice in the okazuya display case, the café offers ready-made bentos for easy grab-and-go. Sun Up ($8) is its version of a breakfast bento, complete with rice, eggs, Portuguese sausage, a shoyu hot dog and link sausage.

The AAA Threat ($12) is a customer favorite and includes a bed of rice topped with kalbi beef, mochiko chicken, a burger patty and hash.

“I deep-dived into recipes and ideas with my team; we taste tested, again and again,” Oury says. “We swapped out unhealthy items for healthier ones and kept kitchen testing to see how far we could stretch local flavors toward being health conscious without compromising the taste and feel of our childhood.”  

No matter what bento you get, be sure to snag a few of the café’s ube doughnut holes ($2.50 each). They’re light, bite-sized and downright addictive.

Besides its variety of okazu items, the café also offers coffee from Kailua Town Coffee Roasters. Customers can choose from drip coffee ($2.50) and cold brews ($4.50) to a variety of specialty lattes ($6-$8).

“The coffee packs a huge wake-up while drinking smooth like butter,” Oury says. “Having locally roasted, smooth and delicious beans were a must and we paired them with locally sourced syrups and local flair.”

Bestsellers include the café’s “Brah Relax” ($6-$7.50) — a vanilla-lavender latte featuring locally sourced Pono Potions lavender — and “Like Get Nutz” ($6-$7.50), a honey latte with Pono Potions’ macadamia nut and coconut syrups topped with cinnamon.

We especially like “Salty Buns” ($6-$7.50), the café’s caramel sea salt vanilla latte, which is creamy, sweet and slightly salty all at the same time.

“We are still modifying and will be adding other items as we figure things out and get feedback,” Oury says. “We are just happy to be here and to be serving up things reminiscent of the past that supports healthy futures.”

A date for the café’s grand opening hasn’t been set yet, but Oury is aiming for September. She says the grand opening event will be a community gathering, and the café would set regular hours and unveil more menu items. Stay updated by following the biz on social media.

“With every opportunity, we tried to keep the past, the community, and our memories at the forefront of our choices and we think it paid off,” Oury says. “This space is special. I had a dream (to do this) more than 20 years ago. I never imagined it would manifest in the way that it did, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“The community has been amazing,” she adds. “They have been supportive, understanding and have really lifted us up. We hope we can do the same for them.”

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Open 7 a.m. until sold out Tuesdays-Saturdays

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<title>Waialua is home to a new okazuya</title>

Nani’s Café offers a healthier alternative to local-style eats and strives to be a positive influence in the Waialua community.

Waialua is home to a new okazuya

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

Government & Politics

Hawaii History

The 146-year-old Falls of Clyde has been docked at Honolulu Harbor for years. Soon, though, the ship will be sent to a final resting place far below the surface of the Pacific.

The state Department of Transportation this week announced that Shipwright LLC,  a Florida-based maritime technical consulting firm, was awarded a contract to remove the vessel from the harbor and dispose of it at a deep-water site at least 12 miles due south of Honolulu Harbor. The removal project will cost an estimated $4.9 million.

According to the July 14 announcement, Shipwright will begin removing debris on July 21, "and will restore the watertight integrity of the ship's division bulkheads." That work will be followed by "hull strength remediation" which will allow the vessel to be safely towed out of the harbor in the event of a storm or other emergency, the department continued.

More structural reinforcement work will take place from August through November, the DOT notes, and the vessel will be towed and disposed of in late November.

According to the DOT, Shipwright will seek the necessary approvals from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard

Falls of Clyde is currently berthed at Pier 7 and was previously part of the now-closed Hawai‘i Maritime Center. That former facility belongs to the DOT and is currently vacant, a department spokesperson confirmed to Aloha State Daily.

The DOT notes that the Falls of Clyde was impounded in 2016 after its permit was revoked and the owner failed to remove it from the harbor.

[{"type":"text","text":"Why has it taken nearly a decade to dispose of the boat?"}]

Dre Kalili, deputy director for the DOT Harbors division, told ASD in an emailed response to questions that state laws governing the impoundment and disposal of vessels "require various steps, including the sale of the vessel at public auction."

"The extended timeline on the removal is attributed to time needed to follow the required procedures coupled with attempts to return the vessel to Scotland and previous unsuccessful efforts to award a contract for removal," she said.

This move comes a year after the DOT sought bids for the permanent removal of the ship, and called for bidders to recommend and determine the method and means of removal, the department noted.

The DOT also worked with a maritime archaeologist to catalog and remove historical items from the boat, which are now being stored in a secured facility.

Kalili says that among the artifacts that were removed and are now in storage are the 

, bell stand, running lights, wheel and name boards. Several other items were display pieces with historical value but not original to the ship, she noted.

Over the past decade, Kalili says that the department has impounded and removed at least 30 abandoned, derelict or inoperable vessels from commercial ports.

"Removal of these vessels reduces the risk the vessels pose to waterways, piers, wharves, and other port infrastructure if they sink or break loose from their lines," she says. "In the recent past, vessels have sunk in the port waterways and have obstructed or interrupted cargo vessel operations."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A brief history"}]

, the ship was built in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1878 and made "several trading voyages to western U.S. ports before being sold to American owners in 1898."

"The vessel was subsequently involved in the Hawaiian transpacific sugar trade as part of Capt. William Matson’s Matson Navigation Co. fleet," the NPS noted. "Falls of Clyde is the oldest surviving vessel from the Matson fleet."

In the early 1900s, the ship was modified as a "sailing oil tanker for the maritime petroleum trade," and made multiple trips between California and Hawai‘i every year, the NPS says. In 1922, it was converted for use as a fuel barge in Ketchikan, Alaska. 

, towed it to Seattle, and tried to find a city that [would] adopt it.

and Hawai‘i philanthropists launched a grassroots effort to save the ship, raising $35,000," a timeline on the 

 notes. "By 1963, the ship was a fixture on the Honolulu waterfront, undergoing $3 million worth of restoration over 34 years."

When it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989, the ship was the "

oldest surviving American tanker and the only surviving sailing oil tanker left afloat in the world," according to the NPS. It was removed from the National Register of Historic Places and had its designation as a National Historic Landmark withdrawn in 2024.

Falls of clyde1 071525

<title>Falls of Clyde to be removed from Honolulu Harbor</title>

The 146-year-old vessel has been docked at the harbor for years and was impounded in 2016. Here's the fate that awaits the ship.

Falls of Clyde to be removed from Honolulu Harbor

 is celebrating May Day in a big way. The cocktail bar, formerly located in Chinatown, opens today in Romer House Waikīkī, Oʻahu’s first adults-only hotel that opened last June.

The Lei Stand was created in 2022 by co-founders Ryan Kalei Tsuji and Tara Kanani Shimooka. The whole idea to open The Lei Stand Waikīkī happened quickly, according to Tsuji.

“Daniel (the general manager at Romer House), Ramona and I were here (at Romer House Waikīkī) after an event, and we started chatting,” Tsuji says. “Three hours later, we came up with this whole plan and pitched it to the team at Highgate. We love Kelly (Sanders) and what he’s doing here with Highgate. It was a perfect fit; five months later, we’re here.”

“Our relationship with Ramona, who helped us open The Lei Stand in Chinatown, helped, too,” says Shimooka.

When Romer House Waikīkī initially opened, its bar, restaurant and whole lobby was called ‘855 Aloha,’ according to Kelly Sanders, president of Highgate Hawaiʻi.

“Our ability to separate the restaurant experience as 855 Aloha and now the bar as The Lei Stand seemed like the perfect opportunity to define the spaces within the hotel, and give people a reason to come and visit — not just to eat, but to drink and to play,” Sanders says. “We’re thrilled with the partnership, and it’s a perfect complement to our Romer House.”

You’ll see familiar elements from the cocktail bar’s Chinatown location, such as its neon signs and floral elements. Similar to the original location, this Waikīkī spot offers seated cocktail lounge service. But guests can look forward to even more fun details to come.

“We’re going to have a neon corner; we’ll have neon activations,” Tsuji says. “There’s a place in downtown L.A. that has a wall of neons; we’re drawing inspiration from that. There are little personal elements here, too — there’s a photo of my grandpa giving lei at the airport.”

The Lei Stand brought over its signature cocktails to its new space. Popular options include Clifton’s Curse ($21) — Kuleana Hui Hui, house orgeat, lime, pear cognac, angeleno, absinthe, bitters and sherry — and Soup Soup ($19), which is a coconut clarified mix of blanco tequila with falernum, absinthe and pineapple.

“I really like the Soup Soup; it really is our most popular drink,” Shimooka says. “It’s tequila based, but it’s so smooth with the clarified coconut wash and pineapple infusion.”

New beverage options include Uncle China ($18) — which pays homage to legendary waterman China Uemura, according to Tsuji — and two non-alcoholic options, the Lennay Kekua ($14) and Kalapana Rise ($14).

“He (China Uemura) used to have surf contests in Waikīkī; he taught a lot of young kids how to surf and did a lot of things with the community,” Tsuji says. “He passed away a few years ago; we wanted a drink that would pay homage to a local in this community. That’s actually his photo underneath The Lei Stand Waikīkī (sign).”

Other beverage options include beers and shots, beers on draft and by the can, and wines by the glass.

The food menu features a mix of pūpū and a few heartier dishes. The cocktail bar brought back a few customer favorites, according to Tsuji.

“Our taro chips were so popular back in Chinatown that we were actually packaging it and selling it,” he says. “We had to make sure that was on the menu; it’s served with what we call our Crack Sauce. Our chicken karaage ($15) was one of our bestsellers, too, so we brought that recipe over.”

The Lei Stand featured a Chex Mix pūpū when it first opened, and it’s now at the Waikīkī location because it was so popular. The savory (furikake) and sweet (smoked local honey) snack ($8) is absolutely addictive. The edamame hummus ($16), served with fresh-baked focaccia with honey and macadamia nut oil, is also a must-have. The hummus is so insanely flavorful that you’ll want to dip everything in it.  

Two sushi rolls are also on the menu. They’re similar — both include snow crab, shrimp tempura, spicy mayo, unagi sauce and tobiko — but the Godzilla roll ($23) features salmon, while the Geisha roll ($23) includes tuna. The bite-sized pieces are easy to share.

If you want something heartier, go for the smashburger ($25), which features a 6-ounce beef patty with American cheese, coleslaw and teriyaki on brioche.

You’ll also notice facts about lei and lei-giving on the menu, which is something intentional for the business’s owners.

“We’re only a few miles away (from Chinatown), but this (location) definitely skews more toward tourists,” Tsuji says. “On the menu, we incorporated little factoids about lei giving and the history of lei. The menu is going to expand with elements — we’re going to include more pictures, more history. There will be some stories behind the names of the drinks. Because there’s a lot of visitors, we’re helping to educate them about what our drinks are and what it means to give a lei in Hawaiʻi.”

Speaking of lei — individuals will be able to buy custom lei from a cooler located outside of the cocktail bar. The Lei Stand currently works with 

 lei makers, and will continue to work with various artisans.

“I’m super excited that we have our own lei fridge; it’s so hard to buy lei in Waikīkī,” says Sanders. “I want The Lei Stand and our lei to be a gift of love back to Waikiki and to all the people that come — locals or visitors — to stay here, to just come and enjoy the experience.”

The Lei Stand Waikīkī is open to walk-ins, but reservations are highly encouraged. Every evening, Romer House Waikīkī’s hotel guests will have priority access to the bar.

“We’re trying to bring a different vibe here into this area,” Tsuji says. “It’s been great — we’ve been talking with the team at the Green Lady Cocktail Room, The Laylow and Secret Spot Honolulu; I think we’re building a new kind of local corridor down here. Our course, we want people to come here, but you can support other local bars and establishments that have a similar vibe. We’re excited to be a part of the community.”

Open 5 p.m. to midnight Sundays to Thursdays, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays

The Lei Stand Waikiki interior sign 043025

<title>The Lei Stand Waikīkī opens today</title>

The former Chinatown cocktail bar now has a permanent home at Romer House Waikīkī.

The Lei Stand Waikīkī opens today

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Christian Shimabuku Headshot

Christian Shimabuku

Crime & Courts

Sports

Yuen was sentenced to over 33 years in prison on Thursday on counts of sex trafficking, producing and possessing child pornography, and sexual coercion of minors.

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Victims find solace as former basketball coach Dwayne Yuen sentenced

Police officers can study for an Administration of Justice degree while working full time

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UH launches officer-specific degree program

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Third annual Drive Aloha Safest Driver Challenge promises up to $2,500 for winners in August

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Drive safe, win cash

Suits against fossil fuel companies went to court this week, but no trial dates in sight

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Slow progress for city and state climate lawsuits this week

Suit alleges the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is illegally withholding books and magazines mailed to Hawai‘i inmates

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Publisher sues Hawai‘i prisons for censorship

An investigation by the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney found officers were acting in self-defense when they shot Benjamin Moralez to death in a Waikīkī hotel.

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Lethal police shooting justified in 2022 Waikīkī armed standoff

Heated language during a 2018 divorce case led to a seven-year disciplinary debate.

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Hawai‘i Supreme Court rules on 7 years of "BS"

Sterling Carvalho hopes to be reinstated as coach following lawsuit against former player and state Department of Education

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Court date set for ousted Kahuku coach

Deadly fireworks accidents can now get you up to 20 years in prison.

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Gov. Green signs new fireworks control measures

The Department of the Prosecuting Attorney ruled today that HPD officers were acting in reasonable self-defense when they shot Nathaniel Taualai to death in 2023

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Lethal force justified in 2023 Pearl City police shooting

Prosecutors are hopeful new laws signed Thursday can shut down illegal gaming rooms more efficiently

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New Honolulu laws clamp down on illegal gambling

Ezra Madali allegedly shot at another driver on June 16