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It’s a big day for Michi Watarai’s Cooking Fresh business.
Monday is its first day as the operator of Kona Bean Cafe at Hilo Hattie’s flagship store on Nimitz Highway in Iwilei.
Since starting up some five years ago cooking made-to-order take-home meals for busy families out of Star of the Sea School in Kahala, she launched a food truck, and her Cooking Fresh Cafes serve breakfast, lunch and Peet’s Coffee and offer take-home dinner pickups at the Queen’s Physicians Office Buildings I and III.
She also has been featured in the KTA Super Stores monthly Super-Saver guides for several years, which still can be found online.
But back to Oahu, now.
Hilo Hattie had been operating Kona Bean Cafe itself but now has contracted Watarai to run it.
"One of Hilo Hattie’s missions is to always find innovative ways to better serve our customers, and this was one of the ways, by hiring Chef Michi," the company said in a statement.
Of the cafe’s seven employees, one is being promoted by Hilo Hattie to another position, but the rest will stay in the cafe to staff Watarai’s operation, she said.
In addition to the employees, she is inheriting some of the equipment and will serve Dole Whip drinks, for example.
However, the overall menu "will be a complete turnaround" from the fare that had been offered, she said.
Watarai will incorporate her popular signature dishes throughout the day, starting with breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m., and a rest-of-the-day menu that will be served from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. when the cafe closes.
Breakfast choices will include Watarai’s creative breakfast panini sandwiches for $6, three styles of loco moco that will be offered all day for $7.50 to $9.50, and not just oatmeal, but oatmeal with sliced almonds, chia seeds, cinnamon and a dried fruit choice for $3.
The familiar also will be on the menu, such as a plate of eggs, wheat toast and turkey bacon; bagels; English muffin sandwiches; and waffles with fresh fruit.
After 11 a.m., plate lunches, all served with brown rice, salad and cut fruit, include kalua pork, Thai curry with chicken or tofu, or a daily chef’s special. Plates run from a $6 mini-size to $10 for a combination plate.
Additional choices include poke bowls, sliders, panini sandwiches from $5 to $6.75 and "Hawaiian-Style" tacos filled with kalua pork, cheese, pineapple salsa and sour cream, among many others, including salad options and a range of desserts.
The new arrangement with Hilo Hattie also has given Watarai a new home for her business.
"It’s become our headquarters," she said.
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Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
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COURTESY M. WATARAI