Po’ai by Pono Potions — Restaurant in Honolulu

My friends entered the store, and we spent about 15 minutes in the front admiring and shopping the beautiful artwork. I was debating buying a pair of pupu earrings.

However, we were never once acknowledged or greeted.

There was a tall gentleman behind the counter with two or three baristas working with him. They chatted loudly amongst themselves. At one point, I was reading the menu, and he came out from behind the counter, walked in front of me - very closely - and starting doing something with the espresso machine, with his back to my face. He stood so close in front of me, I had to step back. He didn’t say excuse me, and he didn’t even make eye contact with me, smile - NO ACKNOWLEDGMENT.

It was shocking! Another customer that was sitting at the table saw, and scoffed, and joked with me about him “being on a mission.” When I ordered, the staff was again not very friendly. How your customers gonna be more friendly than your staff?

It’s very cute that you want to perpetuate our culture, and I’ll even give it to you that you support local artists like Mama Ehulani from Niihau and her art and Kakou Collective. But none of that matters if you don’t perpetuate true ALOHA to us.

Put all the lei hulu you want on your walls, but that day you had a shop FULL of kanaka, speaking ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, and you treated us less than. Yet, you use our language for your business name. Does your staff even respect Hawaiian culture? Because all I can feel from them is disdain.

Don’t use words like “PONO” in your hale kūʻai, if your limahana don’t...

This is the best coffee shop! They started as a syrup company making all local flavors and have expanded to a storefront where they are serving delicious lattes, matchas and mocktails. Each drink is delicious, but my personal favorite is the Pauahi, which features their macadamia nut syrup, as it’s just lightly sweet. For food they serve a selection of breakfast sandwiches and their baked goods are from ‘Ulu and Kalo bakery (all vegan and gluten free made in house) and my personal favorite is the banana bread- so moist! What’s also great about Po’ai is that they host community events from lei making workshops to drag brunches, they have become a staple in the Chinatown community! You can either swing by for something to go (but note they have been BUSY lately) or take a seat in their expanded space where they have a large table to work at or...

Po'ai is a new shop that opened this month. This shop is tucked away in the upper part of Chinatown, which makes this the perfect mid-day hide away or a nice spot for a meeting.

The delicious espresso drinks and lemonade showcase the shop's locally make syrups. These syrups can be purchased at the store, online, or at the Lokahi Market on Sunday's. The syrups are not overly sweet and full of flavor. They can be used to make cocktails, mocktails, desserts, and added to anything thing else you can image.

Po'ai does serve pastries and bites to eat. Pastries are made by Ulu and Kalo Bakery. Additionally, you can stop by to do some shopping or pick up a gift as they have items made by local artisans. If you are familiar with the Lokahi Market in Kailua, the you be familiar with the items in the store. Po'ai feels like the Lokahi Market...