Tanioka’s Seafoods & Catering has long been based in Waipahu and belonged to those of us on the west side. Townies who think driving beyond the airport is just too much effort — well, too bad for you.
Until Tuesday, when the Tanioka family opened a pop-up at Ala Moana Center. I suppose I’ve got to be happy for them.
“We’ve always wanted to reach out to our customers in town,” Jasmine Tanioka, the company’s chief financial officer, said during a preview event Monday. (Apparently some town folk do make it to Waiphau now and again.)
Tanioka’s has a three-month engagement at the center, taking over a former Ninja Sushi location on the second floor of the Ewa wing (on the side facing mauka, next to Jamba Juice.)
The kitchen was redone with all new equipment, Tanioka said, but no decision has been made on what happens after the pop-up period ends. The shop could become a permanent part of Ala Moana, she said, or the family could take the new equipment on the road for pop-ups in other parts of the island.
The menu isn’t as extensive as in Waipahu, but does include the popular ahi poke, fried chicken, a selection of musubi, sweet potato- haupia squares and ube tarts. New to Ala Moana are grilled steak, barbecued pork belly, pesto-marinated pork and boneless short ribs. These are served with rice or greens and any of seven sauces. The new shop has lots of seating, too, which Waipahu lacks.
This is the first town outpost for Tanioka’s since a store downtown closed in 2005. “It’s our first time in more than 10 years to expand outside of Waipahu,” Tanioka said, “so everybody pray for us.”
Hours are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays, until 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Questions? The shop doesn’t have a phone, so call the main Tanioka’s number, 671-3779.
— Betty Shimabukuro, Star-Advertiser
GRANTS TO ULU CO-OP TOP $1M
The Hawai‘i ‘Ulu Cooperative, a farmer organization comprising nearly 100 members on Maui and the Big Island, has received three grants totaling more than $1 million.
The grants will support growth that will result in a projected production of 1 million pounds of ulu (breadfruit) plus another million pounds of other local crops by 2025.
Collectively, the grants support not just a significant increase in local food production, manufacturing and jobs, but also export opportunities and sustainable economic development.
The grants:
>> A $1.1 million state capital improvement project grant will expand the infrastructure of the Honalo Marshaling Yard where the co-op’s ulu is processed. The site is used for aggregation, washing, minimal processing and cold storage for fresh and finished products. The co-op has been the anchor tenant of the facility since 2017.
>> A $150,000 state grant-in-aid, sponsored by the Big Island Resource Conservation & Development Council, will be used to purchase new equipment such as walk-in freezers that will accommodate growth.
>> A federal Small Business Innovation Research grant of nearly $100,000 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture will supportscaling up production of ulu and diversification with other local crops. Right now, the co-op also processes banana, papaya, sweet potato and kabocha.
