BHL Cafe offers a responsible lifestyle eatery in the heart of Downtown
Blue Hawaii Lifestyle Cafe
1111 Bishop Street
DOWNTOWN—In a business district like Downtown Honolulu, feeding the people that keep the machine of commerce running is a promising business opportunity. For those who work away in the thousands of offices that make Honolulu a true metropolis, being able to grab a quick breakfast, lunch, and sometimes dinner is often a crucial part of getting through the workday. Blue Hawaii Lifestyle’s BHL Cafe, recently opened on Bishop Street, is looking to create a business model that meets the snack-time demands of Downtown workers and students while providing healthful, tasty, affordable, and environmentally responsible products.
“We know that there is a demand for healthy products,” says Blue Hawaii Lifestyle Vice President Matt Olson. He is also a graduate of the University of Hawaii Center for Chinese Studies. The storefront specializes in smoothie and tea concoctions made with the Acai berry, a purple little fruit lauded for its antioxidant properties and sold all over the world as a health food, cosmetic enhancer, and weight loss aid. However it may be marketed, it’s tasty. The Panini sandwiches have become an instant hit downtown.
But BHL Cafe is selling more than a little purple berry. Using locally sourced products, coffee roasted on Maui for instance, the company is promoting an environmentally sound approach to providing food and beverages for a hungry, urban population. Their tea comes from Hawaii company The Tea Chest. The organically-grown berries they use are harvested under international fair coffee trade accords. All of their containers and utensils are manufactured from corn-derived, compostable materials, the ink used for printing is soy-based, and their bags are made from 40 percent post consumer content. Even the honey is organic.
The company already has a thriving location at Ala Moana Center, and Bishop Street assistant manager Mia Pontes is brightly optimistic about the new store’s future.
“I’ve already got regulars,” Pontes says. “And my mom,” she adds, smiling. “We have great products and the best Acai in town. They need more places like this in Downtown. You know, a healthier alternative.”
Blue Hawaii Lifestyle CEO Michael Zheng has an international vision for the company, and now has a location scheduled to open at the Embarcadero in the heart of downtown San Francisco in May. If the Blue Hawaii Lifestyle business model proves successful, plans are in place to open stores in China, starting in Shanghai, where Zheng hails from.
More than simply a profit-seeking venture, however, Blue Hawaii Lifestyle is a global community-minded company that not only strives to adopt an earth and body friendly approach to business. It also actively gives back to the community by supporting Susan G. Komen For the Cure, a global nonprofit which funds breast cancer research and treatment. The company also sponsors a regular “talk story” series that hosts experts in sustainability discussing its importance here in Hawaii.
Hard economic times notwithstanding, working folks are always going to need to eat. Given the choice to buy a socially responsible lunch, most will. Whether it’s a bowl of Acai berries and loads of other tasty fruits and granola, an invigorating shake or a meaty turkey Panini sandwich, BHL Cafe makes it easy for downtown workers to fuel up their own machines of commerce without a harmful carbon footprint.
Feb 01, 2010 – 02:28 PM | by Jamie Winpenny | Downtown (www.thehawaiiindependent.com)