When a brewery decides to expand its operations, owners will typically search for a new location in a neighborhood that will provide the best return on their investment. That’s what’s happening in and around Kakaako, where a number of liquor producers have set up shop in recent years.
For Lanikai Brewing Co.’s Steve Haumschild, however, the guiding force in his decision to expand outside Windward Oahu isn’t profit — it’s quality of life. So when LBC recently announced plans to launch a micro-distillery on the North Shore, those who know Haumschild weren’t surprised.
“I originally picked Kailua because it’s my community. It’s the one I live in and the one I love,” said Haumschild. “And Haleiwa is my other favorite place on Oahu. I just love the country feel … (and) as you know, we’re definitely focused on lifestyle, so it really was a closer fit for us than some of the other places, whether it’s the brewery districts of Kakaako or some other area that also has growth potential.”
Haumschild said LBC has signed a “long-term lease with options for extension” and he’s spent the last month or so brainstorming ideas for the space at Haleiwa Store Lots near Matsumoto Shave Ice.
“We’re gonna distill on site and continue to make our beer in Kailua,” he explained. “Distilling is something I’ve wanted to do commercially for years but we’re just out of space at the brewery from all the beer.
“That word, ‘experimental,’ I think is the highlight,” Haumschild continued. “We’re not going to be rum-only or whiskey- only, or vodka-only. We’re going to make everything we can while continuing to drive our desire to use locally sourced ingredients.”
If permitting and construction proceeds according to schedule, expect to see the new Lanikai location open in early fall, serving beer and food, with distilling operations expected to get underway later this year, once all federal requirements have been met.
That will probably take until the fourth quarter of 2020, he said. “We’re going to just really be trying to dial in what we want to do and continue to drive the creative process.”
Follow @lanikaibrewing on Instagram or Lanikai Brewing Co. on Facebook for updates.
MAI TAI’S GOES ‘MAKAI’
Generations of customers of the Mai Tai Bar at Ala Moana Center lamented the January announcement that the open-air bar would close that month — only to get a reprieve until the end of February. But I still had a feeling lots of people were freaking out a little too much about the situation.
Ala Moana is set to get Hawaii’s first Olive Garden next summer in the space that used to be Bubba Gump’s, thanks to local franchisee owners Union MAK Corp. The Mai Tai Bar space was included in the deal, and the company didn’t wait long to announce the bar would remain in operation as the Makai Bar.
“Everything will be in place with the same management, same crew and many of the same beautiful, and now new, Makai Bar girls,” Union MAK director of marketing Debra Espino said in a news release.
The grand opening is March 21 with headlining entertainment by Ka‘ikena Scanlan. The bar’s Island Music Concert Series will then continue weekly through April 25 with performances by Maile (March 28), Ten Feet (April 4), Likkle Jordee (April 11), The Vaitais (April 18) and Kelandy (April 25).
Like the Mai Tai Bar before it, the Makai Bar will have no cover charge; happy hour will be offered at the bar from 4 to 7 p.m. and again from 8 to 11 p.m. daily. Follow @themakaibar on Instagram.
MORE OPENINGS
>> One of the hardest working bartenders in Honolulu these days has to be Foodland’s corporate mixologist Matt Rosskopf, the mastermind behind cocktail programs at the new in-store bar at Foodland Farms Pearl City as well as Redfish Poke Bar by Foodland in Salt at Our Kakaako.
Rosskopf, a 2003 Pearl City High School graduate, has absolutely nailed it with a crack seed-inspired menu at Redfish and his neighborhood-focused cocktail program in his hometown. Now he’s focused his attention once more on Ala Moana, where a stand-alone bar called Eleven will open later this month.
Located on the Piikoi Street end of the Ala Moana store, Eleven will seat approximately 40 guests in 1,100 square feet of space. The bar’s name pays tribute to the store’s history — Ala Moana was Foodland’s 11th location on Oahu when it opened in 1959 — and will complement The Bar at Foodland Farms Ala Moana, which debuted in 2016 with a wine-centric drink menu.
Follow @foodlandhi on Instagram for the official grand opening date.
>> When the Honolulu Festival fell victim to concerns over the spread of the new coronavirus, also canceled was the Sake & Food Festival, which would have marked the debut of Islander Sake Brewery. But the brewery is still on track to open a tasting room this month in Kakaako.
Chiaki Takahashi and Tama Hirose are the duo responsible for bringing sake brewing back to Hawaii for the first time in more than three decades.
The two are using rice harvested in Japan to create fresh sake, which tastes different from the aged sakes typically sold in the United States. They’re also making amazake, a non-alcoholic drink produced using fermented rice.
Want to know more? Stop by 753 Queen St., email info@islandersake.com or call 517-8188.
GIN IT TO WIN IT AT IMPACT HUB
Looking to expand your liquor knowledge — and enjoy a few cocktails in the process? Impact Hub Honolulu offers an exclusive workshop to help broaden your horizons.
Mixology for the Home Bartender is a three-part series that kicked off in February and aims to provide people with the ability to serve up quality cocktails at home.
Impact Hub enlisted the help of member Kevin J. Quail, a former educator and training instructor who started his own business in Washington, D.C., that offered customers a “fine drinking experience.”
On March 20, he’ll guide guests in an examination of gin, starting with spirit sampling and followed by the creation of a craft cocktail using gin as the base liquor.
According to Quail, the aim of his sessions is to arm guests with “more knowledge and confidence to choose, purchase, order and mix vodka.” This month’s workshop is limited to 20 people; tickets are $30 each ($50 for couples, Impact Hub members save $5) and are available via Eventbrite.
The series will conclude in April with a workshop focusing on tequila; call 664-3306 for more info. Impact Hub is at 1050 Queen St.
