Shimogawa Scoops

A community garden that would be utilized by the tens of thousands of residents expected to call the Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaako home by 2030 is in the works at Kakaako Waterfront Park. Kakaako will be home to 30,000 new residents by 2030 and most of these residents will live in high-rise towers, with people needing open spaces to grow food. The Hawaii Community Development Authority is scheduled to talk further about this project at its regular meeting on Wednesday. Some ideas for such a community garden would include a market area, a picnic area and a kids zone. There are several community gardens in Honolulu including the Makiki Community Garden. Community gardens vary in size and type but are mainly supposed to benefit the community by providing recreational spaces and food in urban areas such as Kakaako. These gardens are generally overseen by the city mainly by parks and recreation departments or by public institutions such as schools.

Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co., the largest construction company in Hawaii, is expected to receive its certificate of occupancy on Wednesday that would officially allow the firm to move into the historic former Honolulu Advertiser building in Kakaako. The Hawaii Community Development Authority, the state agency regulating developing in Kakaako, in its regular meeting on Wednesday, is scheduled to issue this occupancy certificate to Hawaiian Dredging, which renovated its new headquarters as well as built the two towers on the same parcel of land on Kapiolani Boulevard called the 801 South St. project. The Honolulu-based construction firm, which has built several projects in Kakaako, has been located in Downtown Honolulu for many years. Its new headquarters was once home to "Hawaii Five-0" productions.

Starbucks is opening a new cafe in the former Radio Shack space at the Walgreens-anchored Nuuanu Shopping Plaza in Honolulu. The Seattle-based coffee giant is currently building out its new space at 1613 Nuuanu Ave. that's across from a 7-11 convenience store and gas station. On Tuesday, Starbucks applied for sign permits for this new store, which is located in an area that currently does not have a coffee shop. The new cafe also is located in a heavily-trafficked area at the corner of Nuuanu Avenue and School Street. Starbucks has a little more than 100 cafes in Hawaii with new shops in the works in Waikiki and on Oahu's North Shore where it currently does not have a presence.

G70, one of the largest architecture firms in Hawaii, has officially started the process of building out its new office spaces in Downtown Honolulu, according to public documents filed Tuesday. The Honolulu-based firm has filed two building permits totaling about $1.2 million for the build-out of its new digs at the Bank of Hawaii building at the Financial Plaza of the Pacific. G70, formerly Group 70 International, is expected to move from its current space at the McCandless Building on Bethel Street where it has been for decades towards the end of this year. The architecture firm's move follows the migration of another one of Hawaii's largest firms — AHL, formerly Architects Hawaii Ltd., which moved to the Pacific Guardian Center in Downtown Honolulu, including the penthouse space at the complex's Makai Tower.

Patagonia, which has started construction on its new building in the Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaako on Ward Avenue, could be adding a restaurant to its retail mix at this new location. A store official confirmed that the popular California-based outdoor apparel company is moving from its current space at the corner of Ward Avenue and Auahi Street that's in the same building complex as Wahoo's restaurant, Starbucks and Jamba Juice to its own building further down Ward Avenue near Kapiolani Boulevard. A move won't happen until at least for another year. Construction fences have already gone up and building permits have been filed for the renovation of the longstanding building at 535 Ward Ave. that was once occupied by a few businesses including The Light Bulb Source. A restaurant/cafe could be added to this newer, much bigger store. About five years ago, Patagonia dove into the sustainable food business by adding such items as jerky to its stores. The company,

The owner of Shokudo restaurant near Ala Moana Center in Honolulu is selling his fairly new restaurant that's next door for $499,000, according to a sales listing for the restaurant. Hide Sakurai, who also is the man behind the Waikiki restaurant Buho Cocina y Cantina, is selling his Bread + Butter restaurant that opened about two years ago in the former Angelo Pietro space on Kapiolani Boulevard. The 3,135-square-foot restaurant has eight years left on its lease, and the owner has invested more than $1 million in the restaurant that's located in the Ala Moana Pacific Center. List Sotheby's International Realty is the brokerage firm handling the sale of Bread + Butter, which was a cafe in the morning and a wine bar at night. It also served lunch. When it first opened, the restaurant employed about 40 people.

HI Tea Cafe is opening at Ala Moana Center's new food court, according to public documents. On Friday, H2K International LLC, which is headed by Michael Huo, filed a $150,000 building permit for its new space at Ala Moana Center's "The Lanai," that will open in part of the former Shirokiya space at the state's largest shopping mall. HI Tea Cafe will serve Asian-inspired lunch plates, bubble drinks, smoothies and fresh juices. Curtis Miyamura of CKM Architects is listed as the architect for HI Tea's new space at the Honolulu mall. The Lanai at Ala Moana is expected to open later this year with up to 12 specialty food vendors and indoor and outdoor seating for up to 450 people.

Amazon.com, the largest Internet-based retailer in the world, has registered a new company in Hawaii, public records show. The Seattle-based company, which was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994, registered "Amazon.com LLC" on last month, according to records from the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Michael Miller, Scott Farrington and Sean Patterson, executives from Amazon, are listed as the managers of recently registered Hawaii company. Amazon, which surpassed Walmart in 2015 as the most valuable retailer in the United States, is one of the world's most valuable public companies. The company is also one of the largest employers in the U.S. Amazon recently made headlines in Hawaii as shoppers of Internet retailer in the state recently began paying sales taxes on purchases.

Sears is coming back to Ala Moana Center, public records confirm Thursday. The department store was at one time an anchor store at the state's largest shopping mall until that space in the Ewa wing was purchased and redeveloped by the mall's owner, General Growth Properties Inc. On Thursday, Sears filed an $80,000 building permit with the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Planning and Permitting for its new appliance store at 1555 Kapiolani Blvd. near the former Nordstrom store.

Nirav Modi, an international diamond jewelry company that is headquartered in India, is expanding to Hawaii with a new boutique opening at Ala Moana Center in Honolulu, public documents show. Founded in 2010 by Indian jeweler and billionaire Nirav Modi, the company's jewels have been worn by many celebrities including actress Kate Winslet and Naomi Watts. On Thursday, Nirav Modi filed a $60,000 building permit with Honolulu regulators for its new boutique at the state's largest shopping mall. Nirav Modi currently has stores in India, New York, Hong Kong, London and Macau.

A New York company has purchased nearly 18 acres of vacant agricultural land near Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's hundreds of acres of oceanfront land on the island of Kauai's North Shore, public records show. Last month, WM Capital Partners LLC's Keala Ranch Ventures LLC purchased the land on Kapuna Road in Kilauea for $2.3 million. The property had been on the market with an asking price of $2.45 million. Carol Orr was the seller. WM Capital provides investment advisory services for its clients in the United States, according to Bloomberg. Zuckerberg purchased hundreds of acres of land in the Kilauea area several years ago, and has plans to build a home for he and his family.

A new cafe is opening at the Aloha Tower Marketplace near Downtown Honolulu, according to public documents. On Thursday, Hawaii Pacific University, which owns the marketplace, filed a $75,000 building permit with the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Planning and Permitting for an "Aloha Tower Marketplace Student Cafe." Linda Miki of Honolulu-based G70, formerly Group 70 International, is listed as the architect for the new cafe, according to the permit. Aloha Tower, which has student dormitories on the second floor, includes such tenants as Nashville, Gordon Biersch, Hooters, Pearl Coffee Hawaii, CrossFit Downtown Honolulu, Barnes & Noble College, Star of Honolulu and Palama Express. The marketplace also is expected to add a student dining facility by Hawaii chef Sam Choy that will be open to the public, as well as Old Spaghetti Factory.

Brookstone, the national specialty retailer of unique and lifestyle products, is opening its second Hawaii store in Waikiki, according to public documents. The New Hampshire-based company already has a store at Ala Moana Center in Honolulu. On Thursday, Brookstone filed a $300,000 building permit with the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Planning and Permitting for a new store at the Saks Fifth Avenue-anchored International Market Place in Waikiki. It once had a store at Ward Village in Kakaako. Brookstone, which was founded in 1965, sells such items as drones, fitness equipment, pillows, smart home and home automation products and massage equipment. It opened its first retail store in 1973 after offering its products in catalogs. The company currently has more than 200 stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, mainly in shopping malls, lifestyle centers and airports. Brookstone will join other tenants at the International Market Place including Hanna