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Down to Earth opens its new store in Kakaako Friday with a secret weapon backstage: Non deMello, former owner of Agnes’ Portuguese Bake Shop.
DeMello closed his 48-year-old Kailua bakery in January and almost immediately went to work for Down to Earth.
A GROWING CONCERN
The Kakaako Down to Earth launches a growth spurt for the 40-year-old local chain.
The Pearlridge store is moving to a building near Toys R Us that will triple its size, scheduled to open by the end of the year; and the Kailua store is moving to the former Macy’s building, into a 15,000- square-foot space that will make it the largest in the chain. It’s slated to open in 2019.
— Betty Shimabukuro, Star-Advertiser
He is the lead baker for the five-store natural foods chain, now spending most of his time at the upcoming sixth location preparing breads, cookies, pastries and more for opening day.
Don’t expect to find Agnes’ sweetbread or malasadas, though.
“Can’t use eggs,” deMello said during a walk-through of the vegetarian market on Monday.
He is working on a bread recipe using an egg substitute. But for now expect to find his breads by the loaf (including whole wheat and rye), focaccia, buns, cookies and pastries, all baked in house.
And that’s just the beginning of the food choices at the new store, the biggest in the chain at 13,000 square feet.
The deli here takes up 42 percent of the floor space, with a hot-food line that curves through one corner of the store. Edgar Edge, food service director, calls it a “theater-style food court,” offering vegetarian sushi, Asian bowls and salads, an organic espresso bar, juice bar and pizzas, all made to order. .
Ordering is by terminals placed around the line: Use a touchscreen to make your choices, print out a ticket, then pay when you pick up. Edge estimates most orders will be filled in five to seven minutes.
Prices? Pizza, for example, is $11 for a 10-inch pie, with any number of toppings chosen from the topping bar. Choose your dough, too: white, whole wheat or wheat-free.
For a total self-service experience, the salad and buffet bar, a staple of Down to Earth stores, is expanded here, with all the vegetarian favorites, from lasagna to spanakopita to chili con tofu — more than 75 items total.
The market is the only grocery store in the growing Kakaako neighborhood, although that won’t be for long. Opening in the next few weeks will be the Asian H Mart just across the street and Whole Foods in nearby Ward Villages.
Down to Earth Kakaako is in the Keauhou Lane complex at the corner of Keawe and Pohukaina streets. Hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Call 465-5512.
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