Shaloha Bakery’s new custom-built pita oven is in place and cranking out way more pita bread than the operation ever made before — and it can make even more.
"Before, the limit was 100 packs per shift," said Shaloha restaurant owner and Shaloha Bakery partner Mor Elkeslassy. Now he can make 1,800 packs of six, and that number is about 70 percent of total capacity since baking hours can be extended, he said.
Elkeslassy owns Shaloha restaurant with partner Sagi Asiskovich, and together with partner Ziv Memran, the three own Shaloha Bakery, a separate company.
The pita bread is sold at the Shaloha restaurant, the Diamond Head Cove Health Bar and at 19 Foodland stores.
The partners have even bigger plans.
The bakery’s soft yet chewy pitas with a new logo will make their debut Thursday through Sunday as a special display at the Hawaii Kai Costco, the bakery’s first road show.
That is the first step toward the bakery’s products "hopefully" winding up on Costco shelves, Elkeslassy said.
The hardest part of promoting the pita bread is creating public awareness, Memran said.
Restaurant regulars love the pita bread, either fresh-baked as a vessel for shawarma, falafel, specially prepared eggplant or other fillings, or deep-fried, seasoned with zaatar (a spice blend) and served as pita chips.
Shaloha donations have been gratefully received by local nonprofit organizations, and that helps with promotion, Elkeslassy said.
The pitas also were well received at a recent farmers market at the Queen’s Medical Center. The market runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month, and the Shaloha Bakery pita bread sold out in two hours, Elkeslassy said.
A neighboring poke vendor even bought some pitas to cut up and serve with poke samples, Memran chuckled, boosting the vendor’s poke sales despite the nontraditional presentation.
The company slogan, after all, is "Try it on a pita," he noted.
For Costco customer samplings, Shaloha will offer its pita bread with a sweet dip and a salty dip. Elkeslassy and Memran are hopeful the flavor and texture of the pita bread will convert tasters into purchasers.
The pita will be sold in packs of eight instead of the more typical packs of six. At Shaloha restaurant the six-packs sell for $7, or two for $12.
Asked what the Costco price would be, Elkeslassy could only say that customers would enjoy a great value.
For folks who didn’t read the first column about Shaloha in November, potential pita purchasers should know that the bread, baked fresh daily, must be consumed or frozen within two days because it contains no preservatives or shelf-life extenders "of any kind," Elkeslassy said.
Once frozen, the pita can be warmed in the microwave for 45 seconds to "re-fluff" it.
Beyond the warehouse store expansion, Shaloha is working with a commercial real estate broker to secure a second location in a high-traffic area such as Waikiki, Elkeslassy said.
A commercial bakery location separate from the restaurant is also in the partners’ plans.
"At the end of 2015, I want a pita pack within five minutes of every Hawaii resident," Elkeslassy said.
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On the Net:
» www.shalohapita.com
