KAPA‘A — Aloha Kauai Pizza in the Coconut Marketplace is about fresh food, not fast food, says owner Carolyn Booth. Tradition runs deep at the family-run eatery, which celebrated its 16th anniversary yesterday. Carrying forward recipes past down from her
KAPA‘A — Aloha Kauai Pizza in the Coconut Marketplace is about fresh food, not fast food, says owner Carolyn Booth.
Tradition runs deep at the family-run eatery, which celebrated its 16th anniversary yesterday. Carrying forward recipes past down from her Italian grandmother, Booth prides herself on combining savory dishes with aloha spirit.
The business got its start with pizza and salad and has since grown the menu to include calzones, sandwiches and pasta. But don’t ask for a slice; its not an option, as everything is made-to-order.
“If you can’t make a great cheese pizza,” she said, “forget about anything else.”
A taste test proves that Booth was right to expand the offerings.
Each pizza pie starts with homemade dough, is covered with a tangy house tomato sauce that has marinated for a day, topped with cheese, brushed with butter and fresh-cut garlic, and baked in a tin pie pan. All dishes are garnished with an orchid — that’s the aloha, Booth said.
A specialty: the meatless lasagna. Booth’s grandmother taught her to make the dish vegetarian, as meat was a special treat to be plated by itself and displayed in the center of the table. (Aloha Kauai Pizza offers meat as a topping).
The best seller, the Italian sandwich, also has a story. Booth said hungry passengers from late-arriving United flights consistently showed up after 10 p.m., when the kitchen had all but closed. Toasting bread in the still-warm oven, using pepperoni and salami, and grabbing salad veggies from the fridge, thus Booth created the most popular menu item.
As for the key to the business’ success, Booth credits family and consistency. And with 16 years under its belt, Aloha Kauai Pizza is not about to change the aloha or the pizza that has worked so well.
For more information, call 822-4511 or stop by Coconut Marketplace in Kapa‘a, 484 Kuhio Highway, No. 29.
