Celebrity chef Michael Mina has brought together 13 food and beverage concepts into an upscale food court that will open June 2 at Waikiki’s International Market Place.
Diners will get a preview of “The Street, a Michael Mina Social House” when three of the venues open May 19.
All 13 spaces are under construction, so the three opening players have yet to be decided. All will be ready for the June 2 grand opening of the 6,900-square-foot, 280-seat food hall, said chef David Varley, director of culinary development for the Mina Group, during a hard-hat tour of the food hall Friday.
Mina Group is developing the multiconcept venue, which officials hope will offer guests a new type of dining experience, partly through a $37 Street Party Pass that will offer diners a way to try a variety of exclusive dishes whether all at once or spread over a 30-day period. Customers also will be able to purchase food and drinks a la carte. The Street will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Each business in The Street is new to Hawaii, including Aloha Ice, by James Beard Award-nominated Honolulu pastry chef Michelle Karr-Ueoka of MW Restaurant. Renowned for her desserts, Karr-Ueoka will offer her take on shave ice and an elevated dessert bar.
Mina himself has created Little Lafa, named after a Middle Eastern flatbread that will be flash-baked to order and stuffed with customers’ choices of meat and vegetable fillings.
Indie Girl, a concept that will offer kombucha, acai bowls, no-sugar-added smoothies and other options, was developed by Mina Group President Patric Yumul in consultation with Sam Custin of Haleiwa Bowls.
Adam’s Nana Lu, by chef Adam Sobel, will serve food inspired by Sobel’s Italian grandmother, such as stuffed peppers, a rotating selection of baked pastas, and square pizzas, “because grandma didn’t make round pizzas. She pushed the dough out into the corners of a pan,” Varley said.
Varley’s own concept, Maui Onion Burger, will rebel against the chef trend of sky-high burgers by serving larger, smash-cooked burgers side by side on custom bread by Honolulu- based La Tour Bakehouse, among other dishes.
Additional food and drink choices will include a salad concept called Mindful Greens; The Street Chocolate Bar, offering Hawaii-made chocolates; a beer garden and wine bar; and Myna Bird, a tiki bar with quirky ceramic mugs and cocktail bowls as well as a hammock swing, will be open from 11 a.m. through late-night service.
Los Angeles-based Lamill Coffee will serve coffees, teas and a rainbow of colorful cake doughnuts. “It’ll be like somebody spilled a bag of Skittles,” Varney said of the colorful glazes on the social media post-worthy doughnuts.
Previously released concepts for The Street include The Ramen Bar by chef Ken Tominaga; International Smoke, a barbecue concept by Ayesha Curry, a cookbook author, TV personality and wife of NBA star Stephen Curry; and Kai Poke, by chef Gerald Chin.