Former hospitality executive Gary Moore is now the president of food innovation hub Common Ground Kauai.
Moore, who previously was managing director of Timbers Resorts for 21 years, assumed the role earlier this year.
As president, he now spearheads Common Ground’s strategic planning and real estate development. He also will guide the organization as it branches out into a lifestyle and hospitality brand, which includes experiential food events, along with a forthcoming on-property restaurant.
Moore told PBN that he enjoyed his career in hospitality and said his time at Timbers Kauai was “awesome.”
“But like a lot of people during Covid, I started examining what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. … I just frankly decided that I wanted to take a break,” he said.
Instead, after conversations with Common Ground chairman Oliver Niedermaier, Moore said he realized that the opportunity was one he couldn’t pass up.
A multifaceted venture, Common Ground has its hand in a range of operations, primarily centered around food, including farming, distribution for food producers and entrepreneurs, and accelerator and incubator programs. It also offers tours of its farm, with the goal of raising awareness about local food systems, as well as on-site farm-to-table dinners.
When asked what drew him to Common Ground, Moore said, “there’s a real focus on regenerative practices — regenerative tourism and regenerative farming — and a focus on bringing people together.”
Plus, he also recognized the value of the project from a real estate perspective. Common Ground occupies 83 acres, and the land is permitted for a range of uses, including restaurants, retail and events.
“You have all of these opportunities, fortunately, because of [the permitting],” he said.
“You have an ability to have this amazing setting with thought leadership types of events and conferences centered around community, centered around food, centered around regenerative practices,” he added.
The property can also serve as a venue for weddings and other private parties.
In the future, Moore noted, there will be space for Common Ground to cultivate longer-term partnerships with businesses that go through the incubator and accelerator programs. While those programs are already underway — two cohorts have been completed so far — Moore said the organization is building facilities where these local food and product businesses can “operate on the grounds of Common Ground.”
“We’ve allocated space to be a place where they can grow. … It’s really providing them a platform where they can launch their business from,” he said.
Also in the works is a 140-person island-to-table restaurant, which he anticipates will break ground in the first quarter of next year, with completion slated for 2024.
In a statement, Niedermaier said, “Gary’s experience as a real estate developer, hospitality executive, and investor, is invaluable as we task ourselves to rethink existing models of food and community.”
In other Common Ground news, the Kauai Federal Credit Union recently became an investor-partner.
“Creating a global community around food is the key to food security and the achievement of a regenerative economy,” Monica Belz, CEO of Kauai Federal Credit Union, said in a statement. “The Common Ground model, with its focus on locality and lifestyle, aligns with a model of financing that asks us to consider how we can care for the health of all parts of the community – from the environment, to the culture, to the people.”
Common Ground declined to disclose the investment amount.
When asked about his goal as president, Moore said he aims to “provide a conduit between the traditional nuts and bolts of real estate investment … and regenerative practices and impact investing.”
“Ultimately, my goal is to be able to show Hawaii, and perhaps beyond, that there is another way — there is another way to have an economically sustainable business while still focusing on regenerative practices … [and] the preservation of the land.”
