Entrepreneurship New Restaurants Food+Drink
Native Hawaiian Pop-Up Eatery Launches In Chippewa Falls
the area's only Kānaka Maoli-owned startup serves slow-cooked pork, Hawaiian bento and more
I was certainly not the first person to ask Shay Souza why she chose to relocate from her home island in Hawaii to Wisconsin, but she took the question in stride.
“I always joke that, where I’m from in Hawaii, is basically the Midwest,” she told me. “The town I’m from is about 2,000 people. All my family are hunters, fishers and are into all that outdoorsy stuff, so (this area) feels similar in those ways.”
While Souza and her husband, Boyceville native Tyler O’Casey, just settled back into O’Casey’s home state earlier this year, she was quick to note the lack of Hawaiian food in the Chippewa Valley.
“At home, food is culture. It’s how you hang out with people, how you share connection with others – everybody’s family has a family recipe for everything.”
SHAY SOUZA
CO-OWNER, LULU'S HAWAIIAN KITCHEN
Souza and O’Casey each went to universities in Arizona – the state they met in – and lived there for over a decade. There’s a moderate Hawaiian population between Arizona and Nevada, Souza said, so she was able to enjoy some flavors of home while living there. In our slice of Wisconsin, that hasn’t been the case.
Folks who spent time at Chippewa Falls’ food hall and community hub, Market On River (128 W. River St.) at the end of July, may have gotten a whiff of slow-roasted pork or alaea salt (Hawaiian sea salt, made with volcanic clay).
Those scents and savory dishes were thanks to Souza and O’Casey’s new venture, Lulu’s Hawaiian Kitchen.
An endeavor years in the making – though the couple became serious about seeing it to life after moving to Wisconsin – its simple yet unique menu harkens to Souza’s native O’ahu and the family recipes she grew up on.
She recalled learning how to properly cook Kalua Pig in an imu – a traditional underground, hot-rock oven cooking method – during high school on the North Shore, and indulging in her grandma’s version of macaroni salad (ironically, not made with macaroni noodles). Both dishes will be available at Lulu’s Hawaiian Kitchen.
“What makes us different is the fact that we’re not mailing it in. We are staying true to tradition as much as possible."
SHAY SOUZA
CO-OWNER, LULU'S HAWAIIAN KITCHEN
While more types of restaurants and food trucks have popped up in the Chippewa Valley in recent years – including the only Indian restaurant in Chippewa Falls, with another on the way in Eau Claire – Souza and O’Casey were a bit uncertain what the public’s reaction would be to these Hawaiian-style foods.
After their soft opening at Market On River, they aren’t worried anymore. Though there was little advertising ahead of their July event, they had a number of customers and received great feedback, Souza said.
Lulu’s Hawaiian Kitchen’s official “grand opening” – Souza and O’Casey prep and cook out of Market On River’s commissary kitchen, River Street Kitchen, but can “pop up” just about anywhere – was on Saturday, Aug. 1.
“What makes us different is the fact that we’re not mailing it in. We are staying true to tradition as much as possible,” Souza said. “The other side of our goal and mission kind of comes from (my upbringing).
“I grew up on Section 8 and food stamps, so I understand the importance of food being affordable. We’ve tried really hard to have better prices,” she said.
The nine-hour flight from this area to Hawaii comes with a hefty price-tag – a taste from Lulu’s Hawaiian Kitchen, on the other hand... Its Kalua Pig entree with side dishes is $11-$14 and its kid-friendly Keiki Bento dish is $8, while its on-the-go handheld, a Spam Musubi, is just $3.
For those with a sweet tooth, the menu includes LuAnne’s Mini Mango Bread at $4 (also available at the Tickled Pink storefront in Eau Claire’s Oakwood Mall).
“At home, food is culture. It’s how you hang out with people, how you share connection with others – everybody’s family has a family recipe for everything. Food is more than fuel,” Souza said.
If you want a taste of Lulu’s Hawaiian Kitchen, mark your calendars for Saturday, Aug. 8 when the locally-operated eatery will celebrate National Spam Day with a Spam-themed menu. Pick up Spam Fried Rice or the Spam Musubi Flight, from 10am-3pm at Market On River.
Keep up with Lulu's Hawaiian Kitchen on social media (@lulushawaiiankitchen) to learn where the eatery will pop up next. Learn more about the family and view the menu at www.lulushawaiiankitchen.com.