LIHU‘E — Rainbeau Jo’s, a coffee, smoothie and breakfast food truck in Lihu‘e, will soon have a cafe in the old Prosser Realty building on Rice Street.
Husband and wife duo Beau and Jo Hannafious are currently working their business out of their food truck they named “Betty White,” while collaborating with other local businesses.
“We have been in the process of transforming from our coffee truck into a brick-and-mortar coffee shop,” Beau Hannafious said. “Grateful to partner with the Satta ‘ohana, which owns Restaurant Kiibo (opened in the 1970s) and builds out our coffee shop on the corner of Rice and Umi streets. As they prepare for their building renovations, we are in the process of beginning our build-out in 2021. Excited to grow together with our local community,” he said.
Hannafious said Rainbeau Jo’s is known for its coffee served with copious amounts of aloha.
“We are the original coffee truck on (the) island, offering organic coffees served hot, iced or blended,” Hannafious said. “We offer three types of organic coffee, including daily brew (drip), espresso and cold brew. Most popular drinks our flavored cold brews, including the original Sleepy Giant. We now offer flavor cold brew handles half-gallon available for pre-order pickup so you can still taste the Rainbeau on days we are not open.”
The Rainbeau Jo’s food truck opened in 2013, and has been located in three different locations on Kaua‘i.
“Our inspiration for opening Rainbeau Jo’s came from both our background in the service industry,” Hannafious said. “We are both gregarious people and thrived in an environment where we got to make peoples’ day by simply serving them with kindness.
“Jo, the lady behind the coffee drinks, helped manage several coffee stands over the years, and was inspired by the way serving coffee helped her connect with the community in a really beautiful way.
“It was a dream of hers to one day have her own cafe and be able to not only connect with the community but to become more than a coffee shop; to be a safe place where all feel welcome and loved every time they are at our business,” Hannafious said.
Hannafious said he and his wife are slinging through the pandemic. However, they are excited to bring on several other aloha ambassadors from Kaua‘i’s local communities as they move into their new café.
“We just can’t tell you how grateful we are for your support, Kaua‘i,” Hannafious said. “We truly would not have made it through these last few months without your love, support and kindness. Thank you for your never-ending aloha.”
“We take a lot of pride in being a local, small business, and support our business friends on a personal and business level in every way we can,” Hannafious said.
“The only reason we are in business is because of our locals, so we really believe in putting our money back into our local economy. Our menu includes collaborations with Ya Quddus Bagelry, several local farmers, local ice cream company, Aloha Ginger Beer, and we purchase all our eco-friendly ware from local distribution companies.”
“All our merchandise is printed locally, and (we) have collaborated with local artist @TKAY2INSPIRE for our newest sticker line. We are really excited about several new collaborations in the works as well that will be released soon,” said Hannafious.
Giving back
to the community
“We’ve been really grateful to be able to give back to the community that has supported us for so long,” Hannafious said. “This past year we were able to serve coffees and breakfast totaling over $3,500 to our front-liners, essential workers, including hospital workers, police officers, firefighters, grocery-store workers and other front-line workers. This was a collaborative effort based upon donations from our community and customers from mainland as well. We called it ‘Brew Aloha Forward.’
“Currently, we are promoting the disc-golf tournament this Sunday to benefit Allysia’s medical expenses. Players have a chance to win $100 in donated Rainbeau Jo’s gift cards. Always stay posted on our social media for giveaways and fundraisers that we are proud to support,” Hannafious said.
Recognition
and final thoughts
“We feel grateful to be able to serve the community and truly love our job in a big way,” Hannafious said. “Among some really-rewarding accolades, we’ve been so honored to receive Yelps and Buzzfeed’s best coffee shop in Hawai‘i several years running, along with being featured in 2020 as the No. 2-rated Woman-Owned Restaurant for Yelp in the United States.”
Rainbeau Jo’s is open from 8 a.m. to noon 12, except when closed normally Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We will have some closures occurring as they continue with renovations,” Hannafious said.
All updates &information can be found on their social-media platforms, including Instagram @rainbeaujos or at rainbeaujos.com.
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Stephanie Shinno, features, education, business, and community reporter can be reached at 245-0424 or sshinno@thegardenisland.com.
