Where It Started, and Where It's Going: The Story of Our South King Street Bakery

The Beginnings

Twenty years ago, Honu Bakery opened its doors as a small shop on South King Street, where it all began. This location was the birthplace of our beloved Turtle Bread, the treat that would capture the hearts of locals and propel us to open a second location. The success of this tiny bakery was driven by our dedication to quality, creativity, and community.

Today, the original Honu Bakery still stands strong, beloved by many loyal customers who have been with us for years. It's the perfect stop for students grabbing a quick breakfast before school and for hard-working folks picking up a savory bread and coffee to power through their day.

Challenges of Today

However, the landscape has changed significantly since we opened in 2004. Like many businesses in the area, we’ve faced challenges due to the homelessness crisis and economic downturn, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. The influx of homeless encampments has led to safety concerns, decreased foot traffic, and increased property maintenance issues.

Over the years, we’ve witnessed many neighboring businesses either relocate or go bankrupt. This dilemma faced the previous management, prompting discussions about whether to stay or move the location. When the new management took charge at the beginning of this year, they were faced with the same question: should the original location remain, or should it be moved?

After spending weeks at the location and listening to feedback from both our customers and employees, we realized that our loyal customer base still relies on us to supply their favorite Turtle Breads and other daily baked goods. We understood that we still have a vital role to play in this community.

Adapting to Change

Despite our dedication, we are still aware of the challenges posed by the increasing homeless encampments and the lack of new business investment in the area. However, over the last few months, we've analyzed what works and what doesn’t, making adjustments to our business plan.

Phase One: Product Adjustment

The first phase was identifying which items were in high demand and which were not. We discovered that more than 80% of our customers visit the South King location in the morning to early afternoon for our fresh daily breads. Therefore, we’ve reduced our non-daily bread offerings and expanded our daily bread selection to meet this specific demand. While very few customers still ask for items like our Castella, Marble Pound Cake, Roll Cakes our Kamehameha Shopping Center location is less than an 8-minute drive away, ensuring they can still enjoy those treats.

Phase Two: Store Hours

The second phase, still in progress, involves adjusting our store hours. With the increased safety concerns, especially in the late afternoon, we are working to determine optimal store hours that allow us to serve our customers effectively while ensuring our employees' safety.

Looking Ahead

There is still much work to be done to make the most of our South King Street location. We aim to maximize its historic significance and geographical advantages while catering to our target customers. We dream of transforming it into a place as iconic as Starbucks' first store in Seattle's Pike Place Market. This location is historic and meaningful to all of us at Honu Bakery.

What's most important is that, despite the trend of businesses moving away from this area, we have recently renewed our lease with the mission to revitalize and regrow this community. We are excited about the challenge and journey ahead, and we would love to hear your thoughts on how we can best support this specific neighborhood.

Thank you for being a part of our journey.

We Want to Hear from You!

If you have ideas or suggestions on how we can support the South King Street community, please reach out to us. Your feedback is invaluable as we continue to grow and serve you better.