Fresh Cafe, popular for its use of mostly locally grown food, is opening a second location in late January at the former Indigo restaurant in Chinatown.

The restaurant that will be called Fresh Cafe Chinatown signed a lease agreement Monday with landlord Hawaii Theatre Center for the 5,300-square-foot space at 1121 Nuu­anu Ave. in the Hono­lulu Culture and Arts District.

Fresh Cafe owner Tiffany Tanaka said she and a business partner are investing about $1 million to renovate the property over the next year and will pay roughly $10,000 per month in rent during a two-year lease that began Monday with a 15-year option.

She plans to divide the restaurant into multiple rooms. The cafe will serve takeout breakfast and lunch, and a full-service, sit-down restaurant will offer breakfast and dinner. Fresh Cafe’s first location is at 831 Queen St. in Kaka­ako.

"I just feel that it’s a good market in Chinatown, and there’s definitely a demand to bring the Kaka­ako and Chinatown communities together," she said. "We’ve been looking for expansion space for the past two years. As soon as we got there, we kind of fell in love with it and realized it’s a perfect space because it really is the heart of Chinatown."

The cafe menu will offer local favorites and American cuisine "sticking closely to what is grown and produced in Hawaii."

Tanaka also is considering other locations, possibly at Ala Moana Center or Wai­kiki if the Chinatown eatery proves successful.

"We had several offers on the space and felt that Fresh Cafe’s stimulating ambiance, together with a healthy and creative menu would be a great fit with the flourishing arts and culture scene in the downtown/Chinatown district," Hawaii Theatre Center President Sarah Richards said in a news release.