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STAR- ADVERTISER / 2015
A cup of Lemon Meringue Pie flavor ice cream made using liquid nitrogen from Nitrogenie. The ice cream shop closed its doors after just over a year in business.
Nitrogenie, the ice cream shop that created ice cream-to-order using liquid nitrogen, closed its Ala Moana Center store Sunday, after just over a year in business.
The Australia-based Nitrogenie franchise opened its only U.S. location in the Ewa Wing of the mall on Nov. 12, 2015, under the same parent company that opened Magnolia Bakery & Cafe, also in the Ewa Wing. Magnolia closed last month.
Nitrogenie co-founder, general manager and executive chef Todd Farr could not be reached, but Alicia Brandt, vice president of Oahu Auctions, said her company had been retained to liquidate Nitrogenie’s equipment via an online auction, now underway.
The auction will run through 6 p.m. Jan. 24, with winning bidders to pick up their purchases the next day. The company also handled the recent liquidations of inventory and equipment at Magnolia Bakery and Diners Drive-In Waimalu.
“I just learned last night from the manager that ran both (Nitrogenie and Magnolia) that Nitrogenie was very profitable, but because Magnolia was doing so poorly … it pulled Nitrogenie down,” she said.
Farr told the Star-Advertiser in 2015 that all the ice cream shop’s ice cream base, rich with high (fat) percentage cream and milk, was imported from Australia.
At that time, Sean Donahue, regional manager for the brand, said the company was planning to expand “aggressively” and to add about 300 to 400 jobs in Hawaii.
Not about the product, it’s about Ala moana and GGP. They are a cancer on the state of Hawaii. Look at the number of restaurants and stores that have closed the past year.
I think you are spot on – its highly doubtful that even Magnolia is the excuse. Most people in Hawaii are extremely ignorant of the contracts General Growth makes these vendors sign. Companies go into ala moana thinking they are going to make it big based on the demographics GGP provides. Shortly there after they realize the only one making a big profit is GGP due to the revenue clause in their contract.
Too pricey on the Ewa end of Ala Moana. Not the first and not the last to close.
agree. The only thing on the Ewa side making $$$ is Foodland. The Ewa addition is so creepy. Most of it is deserted and I rode my bike up various ramps leading to scary empty concrete parking lots. The glass stores were largely empty. Scary area
Yea Mr. Allie I’m sure the Sullivan family gives you full access to their financials….NOT. You have no clue if its making money, loosing money or breaking even.
It is probably losing money now. Overpriced for most Oahu residents. However once all of those Ala Moana million dollar condos/time shares open up, the rich people who live or will rent out their condo’s will have tenants with the money to exclusively shop at the Foodland that will cater to these wealthy people. Check out Whole Foods at Kahala Mall, super expensive but super busy with lot of rich people and their kids who pay top dollar for supposedly high quality and “healthy” food. Also General Growth might be giving some favored tenants like Foodland, some breaks if they are struggling because General Growth cannot afford for Ala Moana Foodland to go belly up and leave Ala Moana before the new Al Moana condo tenants move in. That would skrew up their business plan of having Foodland anchor all of their Ala Moana condo tenants with a solid food supermarket/ eating establishment of sandwiches, pizza, etc (like Whole Foods) all just one elevator ride away from their condo front door. In fact was in the news these new condos will have exclusive access to the rest of the Ala Moana shopping center not available to the public. Drive by the current Ala Moana condo construction and you begin to realize how huge the number and size of their condo fronting Ala Moana Beach park. All other tenants, it is sink or swim. You got one of the best retail locations in the entire State of Hawaii so whatever you selling better be what General Growth will accept and you better pay your rent and share of your profit on time or you are out. To me Nitrogenie is nothing more than a fad and could care less if they close up in Ala Moana center.
What bothers me the most is the tax loophole General Growth gets with the State. They should pay their fair share of Hawaii taxes. You know General Growth has connections, whether by grease palming or whatever when they quietly installed thousands of PV panels on their rooftop and HECO did not stop them. On a retail holiday when Ala Moana center is closed down and it is a hot sunny day, the amount of elecricity sent back to the HECO grid from the thousands of Ala Moana PV panels must be major. Doubt Ala Moana shopping center has battery storage, they must be in the now closed NEM program.
The “new” Shirokiya is doomed
I found the ice cream pricey and nothing special – just ice cream.
Article says the ice cream place was very profitable. Apparently people are willing to pay extra for the spectacle and show of creating ice cream with frozen Nitrogen.
drove past the shop at least once a week. each time there were less and less in line for ice cream until each time i passed it was empty. walked by there a couple times a month and it was the same. after the initial rush with lines outside, customers quickly tapered off steadily until there were none.
The article says a spokesperson said the ice cream store was profitable. As with Foodland, we don’t know because we don’t have access to the financials. Saying you make money and making money are two wholly different pronouncements. Not that PR people would try to snow someone. Oh, heavens no. Lots of money for a tiny cup of ice cream is what I recall. We waited in line for about a minute inside the store before my very conscientious daughter said, “Nah, too expensive for something that small.” And with Jamba Juice practically next door I’m not surprised it is OB.
Probably true. If the ice cream were special, they might still have a following, but every new eatery here in Hawaii gets an initial rush, no surprise there.
The “Stone” ice cream shops have just about all packed it up here in Hawaii. That should have been a clue. Same thing with Magnolia Bakery. The food was Ok, but overpriced, and people here in Hawaii don’t eat food like that. What New Yawkers like, doesn’t necessarily translate here.
These people are not into market research. Too bad, they could have saved themselves the trouble.
“…the company was planning to expand “aggressively” and to add about 300 to 400 jobs in Hawaii.”
hahaha, I guess after getting a nasty taste of the “D” Aloha taxes, they changed their mind! LOL
Well that’s not true of course, but then again, the truth is not your strong suit.
Businesses should never neglect the local clienteles! They’re the bread and butter for a successful business in Hawaii! The newly renovated Ewa portion at Ala Moana Center is a turn off for locals since day one!
Very few locals go to Ala Moana. Our family hasn’t been there in years. It’s really a tourist place. We don’t even go down to Waikiki anymore. Years ago, it used to be fun playing tourist but not any more.
Not true, westsiders need (more like want)the heavily overpriced rail to take them to Ala Moana.
Ala Moana Center is not for the locals they essentially target the well heeled visitors who have large amounts of disposable cash to spend on luxury items instead……
And now it is catching up with them with Yen being very weak, sales are tanking. I read somewhere that Ala Moana has a 15% vacancy rate which for them is a record high. Not a lot of press on that since Ala moana is one of the last major advertisers in this newspaper
I’m starting to see a lot of tourists shopping at Walmart.
Sadly, maybe people are beginning to realize…catering to the wealthy may not be the answer…maybe trickle down economics doesn’t really work. You have multi-million dollar condos being built around Ala Moana Center but do you think the rich like to mingle amongst the commoners? Do they even shop? Foodland may be doing well because it is the centers only market and they do eat or have their personal chefs cook for them.
OMG. Get the rail to them. It’s all about loosing jobs.
Maybe the Star Advertiser can find out what is happening with the Diamond Head end of the mall on the makai side coral level? Gamestop is not getting their lease renewed, and the rumor has it that GGP is not going to renew a lot of leases in that section of the mall due to renovation projects. Foot traffic in that area is minimal but that particular shop had customers.
Any food establishment (take out) not located in mall food courts struggle.
As a person who frequents malls, I did stop in once to both of these and they were just to expensive for a “SNACK”.