KAPA‘A — In two weeks, Brice and Raven Hohenberger will host a grand opening of their eatery, Island Craves Kaua‘i, on Kuhio Highway in front of the old Cost-U-Less warehouse in Kapa‘a.
The husband-and-wife business owners have been envisioning their community-minded venue since December of 2019, and have been coming to Kaua’i from Texas for over 20 years, to enjoy the island and visit family.
“I have family here, the Atkinsons,” Brice Hohenberger said. “They’ve been here for 20 years or so. We kept coming to Kaua‘i and then we moved here five years ago — we got married and I had some money saved, so we moved here. I wasn’t looking for a job. And then this idea just kind of came together because I do the audits on the gas station. I see how much doughnuts and pizza.”
Although the Hohenbergers had to wait a year to finally open their business because of COVID-19 restrictions, they are excited to provide healthy and non-healthy cravings to Kaua‘i residents and visitors.
“What almost started out as a joke at the dinner table, really grown into like finding what we’re passionate about and how to serve the community like as throughout the process,” Raven Hohenberger said. “So that’s why it doesn’t even make sense when you say ‘doughnuts and pizza.’ It’s a hodgepodge. What can we give the community that we don’t have? What can we give families? It’s all the stuff you crave that we generally can’t find.”
The Hohenbergers said their eatery will not only have the normal doughnuts, pizza, and soft ice-cream cravings, but also healthy, gluten-free cravings. And the couple will have a suggestion box where you can request something you crave.
“We want them to be delicious and all that stuff, too, but we also want to offer craves to the vegan community,” Raven Hohenberger said.
With the grand opening coming up, the couple is looking for new employees to join their team. Anyone looking for a job may follow them on Instagram.
“We do need to hire a few, like our last positions, and then the next week after that, we’ll kind of just see how we grow and how it goes and kind of fit those needs as they come, but definitely have positions open for like within the next week.”
At their opening, the couple said they are hoping to have someone play some music and have a traditional blessing.
“I went to one for my neighbor’s barn,” Raven Hohenberger said. “And that was one of the most beautiful experiences that I have ever been through — singing and just the tradition of it. So definitely want to have something like that for sure.”
In the future, the Hohenbergers want to connect with the community by displaying other local business products in their shops and have a community bulletin. And they will also have a mobile app that will provide delivery and info on all of their products and services. When things start to pick up, they will have a drive-thru window accessible too.
“Pizzas — I’m really sure to keep it under $20. Absolutely,” Brice Hohenberger said. “And for we’ll have specials all the time. With our app, you’ll be able to log on, we’ll see you. We got rewards. And then also we take care. You can pay through your phones directly and we send it, boom, like Dominos.”
According to Raven Hohenberger, her husband is the master behind all of the construction done in their 428-square-foot establishment during a time of uncertainty.
“Just seeing that we’re trying to open a food establishment, while the island was on shut down,” Raven Hohenberger said. “And we didn’t know if we could — folks were also losing their jobs and such. So I was concerned as we did open, should we go ahead and open?”
Raven Hohenberger said she picked the colors from her wedding and he put in the hard work during the pandemic, costing the couple approximately $300,000.
“Then we thought, ‘this is home — we’re invested long term.’”
The couple fell in love with each other when they were teens, and both experienced a loss on both sides of their families, and now that they are expecting their first child, they craved for the ‘ohana community that Kaua‘i provides.
“We knew we wanted to come out here, and this is where we wanted to settle down and raise our family. One on the way, so we knew when we got here that we were committed to staying and making this like our home,” Raven Hohenberger said. “We’re glad we found such a great niche opportunity that the community is really gonna love.”
Wish you the best Luck … Happy sales !Love the blue color .Welcome to the kauai community . Can’t wait to try the coffee with donuts yummy .
The article was a bit confusing. They will be serving nutritious and non-nutritious food?
Vegan food, or snacks? Wonder what food that will be.
Donuts with multi colored sugar flecks on top? There’s fuel for early onset of weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure. This type of snack, really unfit self-entertainment food, provide the basics for lots of prescription drugs down the line.
Will the vegan food be sugar coated for the cheating vegans. Sounds like an outlet for the maintenance of obesity which is an epidemic on Kauai. Just look at the men and women whose bodies have gone wild and wear clothes of extreme sizes. They are everywhere, wearing the food they eat that sticks to their body like glue.
You wonder what exactly are the foods that stay in your body accumulating in there day after years after decade and you just keep getting bigger?
So many things for self abuse in the multiple categories of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, street drugs, prescription drugs, vaccines, and especially food and drinks supporting obesity.
It’s called Freedom, freedom of choice, but it doesn’t have to be against the law to be personally outlawed.
We’ll be there to check out the vegan products.
Wish they would have provided their menu and ingredients. It’s Kauai we’re sure the business will do well, maybe eventually go Big Box in the old Cost-U-Less warehouse behind.
I’ve seen the sign on the building. Isn’t it too big given the square footage of their space? Kinda looks like a billboard which, due to the efforts of the Outdoor Circle in the ‘60s, were banned in Hawaii.
Great. More fast food for Kauaiians. When I grew up there was only McDonalds and Dairy Queen. Now there’s all kinds of junk food from the mainland. Please keep Kauai Kauai. We don’t need donuts and pizza. We need to keep our local culture. We don’t want to be another Maui. Make something local inspired. Keep it Hawaiian. That’s why you came.
Get with the times. Even local Kauaians enjoy a good donut now and then. Just because you don’t like it, don’t speak for all of us.
Good Luck, and much success! Your original mural/sign was beautiful..it’s unfortunate it had to be changed. The sign laws are a bit confusing, Costco, Home Depot, and Walmart have gigantic signs with lights , so I guess they have an exception for ‘big box’ stores. Stay passionate and ignore the haters, and you will do well with your creative business concept.
Signage size is dependent upon a store’s square footage.
And yet certain park bathrooms and the old Big Save buildings can be painted on it ways that, while pretty, comes off looking like graffiti. Oh, but because the county allows it, it’s okay.
Love your store! The most Amazing food! Such a variety and the staff are wonderful! Cody Clayburn did an amazing job on your floor and it’s a pleasure to bring my friends here 😍keep up the good work!