Hana Kitchens, a culinary incubator and shared-used commercial kitchen for food entrepreneurs, recently expanded facilities, which will double the number of producers working in its Downtown Honolulu space. The business operates within Harbor Court, in a spot that was once home to Palomino Restaurant and later Watabe Wedding Corp., as previously reported by Pacific Business News.
Hana Kitchens has been in operation since July 2021, but recently built out a shared-use kitchen, two ghost kitchens, a packaging room, a show kitchen and an event space, which opened in January, said founder Joe Di Condina. The company provides a work space for local producers and chefs, including the owners of food trucks, producers of consumer packaged goods, as well as vendors for farmers markets, he told PBN.
“People go on to our website, and they think we’re this corporation. It’s four of us,” Di Condina said, adding that he works full-time for the business.
Hana Kitchens, which was self-funded with life savings, along with financing from Central Pacific Bank, now has close to 30 producers with plans to double that number, he said.
Hana Kitchens
Producers who use the space — or have previously used it — include Tali’s Bagels, The Local General Store, Little Sparrow, Middle Eats, Milk Market, Hapa Hawaiian Salts, Aloha Bites, Ohana Nui, Banan, The Kuki Man, Weirdoughs, and Ulu and Kalo Bakery, according to the company’s website.
Some producers, such as The Local General Store, used the space as a “jumping off point” before opening a brick-and-mortar location, while others call it home for a long time and may not want to open a retail location, Di Condina said.
The entry-level cost is about $800 per month, which includes one eight-hour kitchen shift per week, along with dry and cold storage, plus a parking pass, Di Condina said.
The new show kitchen is available for client dinners, cooking classes and as a demo space for photo and video shoots, he said.
Why did you start Hana Kitchens? We moved here because my wife is from here, so when we got pregnant in New York, we decided to have our son here. I grew up in the restaurant industry. My dad is an immigrant from Italy. He’s a small business owner, and I saw the struggles of small businesses ... but I didn’t necessarily want to go into the restaurant business because he loved and hated the restaurant business. ... I have a lot of different businesses, but this one is the most impactful in my life. Seeing all these small businesses have a place to grow and call this their home — I think that’s the coolest part about this.
How is Hana Kitchens helping decrease food dependence on the Mainland? I think any commercial kitchen — shared-use kitchen — when done properly, is the epicenter of local food sustainability. It’s a place where we provide this physical space to produce food safely, and second, we have light industrial equipment that helps people scale [their production]. ... And thirdly ... what we focus a lot on here is the community. It’s a bunch of like-minded people working. All these food entrepreneurs, they bounce ideas off each other.
What do you look for in applicants who want to work at Hana Kitchens? There [are] three things we look for in a company. One is a real passion and connection to what they want to do. We look for companies that are using some sort of local product. They don’t necessarily have to, but we really like that aspect of it. ... And a real commitment to what they want to do. We don’t want somebody who on a whim wants to try something. ... If you look at the roster ... most of the companies come here and they become very successful at what they’re doing and that’s because we see that they’re committed to what they’re doing. It’s that fostering of the community that we have here, and everybody lifts each other up here.
Hana Kitchens Hawaii
Joe Di Condina, founder
Address: 55 Merchant St., Suite 20, Honolulu, HI 96813
Phone: 808-888-8886
Website: hanakitchens.com
