What does it take for one short stretch of Uluniu Street to cover breakfast through dinner? In summer 2026 it took three businesses, and all three were already part of Kailua.
The new spots on Uluniu this year are expansions and moves by operators with years in town. Cinnamon's opened a sister shop next door to its brunch restaurant. Mānoa Chocolate added a coffee bar inside the shop it has run for years. Himalayan Kitchen left Kailua Road for a bigger kitchen a few blocks away. With all three in place, the 300 and 400 blocks of Uluniu now have something open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on most days. A few blocks off, the same pattern shows up on Hāmākua Drive.
The block, business by business
Cinnamon's Sweet Shop, 315 Uluniu St. The sister business of Cinnamon's Restaurant held its grand opening on June 1 in Kailua Square, right next to the brunch spot. Owner Alika Nam runs both. The menu covers hot and iced coffees, specialty drinks including cream sodas, housemade cookies and soft serve. Flavors rotate. Blueberry lavender was on when Aloha State Daily visited, and haupia, poi and salted caramel fudge swirl have also been featured. A small cup was $4.99 and a large $6.99 at opening, and an espresso affogato was $5.99. It is open daily from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Mānoa Chocolate café, 333 Uluniu St. Dylan Butterbaugh started Mānoa Chocolate in 2010 with a hand-cranked refiner at his family's home. He opened a store and factory in Kailua two years later. The company now also has a bigger factory on Kapaʻa Quarry Road, a farm in Waialua and a retail shop in Waikīkī. Even so, Honolulu Magazine calls the central Kailua shop "the heart of the operation." This summer that shop got an expanded café, where coffee is served a few feet from where the beans are roasted. The mochas, flavored with salted caramel, coconut or honey cinnamon, are $8. Single-origin pour overs from Maui and Kona are $10. The chocolate cortado is made by melting Mānoa milk chocolate under a hot espresso shot before the steamed milk goes in. The café is open daily from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Himalayan Kitchen, 442 Uluniu St. The Nepali and Indian restaurant moved from 600 Kailua Road into the former Tokoname Sushi Bar & Restaurant space. Chef and owner Suman Basnet told Aloha State Daily the restaurant has been in Kailua for about six years. As of late August it had been at the Uluniu location for about two months. The new space has a bigger kitchen, so the menu is larger than it was at the old store. Lunch specials run $15.95 to $18.95. Each is a combination plate with basmati rice, a veggie of the day, naan and housemade chutney. Basnet says the chicken tikka masala and butter chicken sell the most. His own suggestion is the Himalayan spicy wings. They are marinated in four different chilies and grilled in the tandoori oven.
How the hours fit together
Put the three schedules side by side and the block covers most of the day, with two small gaps:
- 7 a.m. Cinnamon's Sweet Shop and the Mānoa Chocolate café both open, so there are two coffee counters within a short walk of each other.
- 11 a.m. Lunch service starts at Himalayan Kitchen.
- 2 p.m. The Sweet Shop closes.
- 2:30 p.m. Lunch at Himalayan Kitchen ends.
- 4 p.m. The Mānoa café closes.
- 4:30 p.m. Dinner starts at Himalayan Kitchen and runs until 9 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday.
The gaps are useful to know. None of the three is serving between 4 and 4:30 p.m. On Mondays, when Himalayan Kitchen is closed, the block's hours end when Mānoa closes at 4 p.m. Aloha State Daily notes that Himalayan Kitchen has street parking.
The same pattern on Hāmākua Drive
The best example of a Kailua business reinventing itself in place is at 201 Hāmākua Drive. Owners Jimmy and Kim Tran ran Hot Pot Heaven Kailua there. In May they started serving pho, and Kim Tran says the restaurant got busier. Pho became so popular that the couple changed the whole concept. Pho N Grindz opened on September 10 in the same space with a new menu. It serves Vietnamese dishes like pho, bun Thai and a Vietnamese beef stew alongside plate lunches. Kim Tran says she added the plate lunches for her husband, whom she calls "a local boy."
She explained the reasoning simply. "On a day that's so hot — where maybe you don't want pho — you might want plate lunch," she told Aloha State Daily. The garlic shrimp plate is $19 and the beef rib pho is $25. The veggie pho, $18, is made with tofu, mushrooms, broccoli and carrots, and Tran calls it "truly vegan." Pho N Grindz is open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Pho N Grindz is open on Mondays, and its hours overlap the 4 to 4:30 p.m. gap on Uluniu. So between the two streets, Kailua has an early dinner option every day of the week.
Where Uluniu fits in the fall calendar
Kailua's recurring events this fall happen at set times, and several of them start in the late afternoon, right when the Uluniu block changes over from cafés to dinner.
- Saturday, Oct. 3. Lanikai Brewing holds its Oktoberfest at the Kailua taproom from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Entry is free and food and drinks are pay as you go. Three German-style beers will be on tap: a märzen, a helles and a hefeweizen. There are also nonalcoholic specials, including an apfelschorle. The first "Brat Boss" eating contest starts at 6 p.m. Contest registration closed Sept. 10, but anyone can watch.
- Sunday, Oct. 4. The City's event schedule lists the Kailua Half Marathon starting at Kailua Beach Park. Lanes close at 5 a.m. and should reopen around 10 a.m. on parts of Kailua, Kāneʻohe and Lanikai roads. The schedule was published in April, so confirm closures before driving.
- Every Thursday. The Kailua Farmers' Market runs from 4 to 7 p.m. at Kailua Town Center, 609 Kailua Road. The Hawaii Farm Bureau lists market dates every week through Dec. 24 and notes free parking.
- Second Saturdays. Kanikapila, Kailua Town's free music series, plays from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Kailua parking garage behind Longs/CVS. Sister Robi Sister plays Oct. 10 and Kala'e & Kalena play Nov. 14.
- Oct. 23–31. Kailua Town hosts a free, self-guided, family-friendly Halloween adventure from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
The timing works out. Kanikapila ends at 5:30, an hour after Himalayan Kitchen starts dinner. The Thursday market begins at 4, just as the Mānoa café closes. The Halloween adventure ends at 4 p.m., the same time the Mānoa café closes. Kailua Fall Fest on Hahani Street happened on Sept. 26 and won't return until next year.
One rule change affects late nights. On Sept. 11, the City's Department of Parks and Recreation made Kailua Beach Park's nightly closure permanent. The park is now closed from midnight to 4 a.m. It started as a pilot program last year and was formalized after Neighborhood Board input. You can still walk through the closed park to reach the ocean, but staying in the park during those hours is not allowed.
Business hours and event times can change, especially at restaurants that have just opened or moved. The schedules above come from coverage published between June and September 2026. Check each business's own channels before planning around a specific time. Mānoa Chocolate, Cinnamon's and Himalayan Kitchen all chose to grow inside Kailua this summer, and their combined hours now cover most of the day on Uluniu Street.
At Oahu Lux Homes, we follow changes like these on Uluniu, Hāmākua and Kailua Road because they shape what a day in town looks like. If you'd like to talk about which part of Kailua fits your routine, or what your current home is worth, reach out to start your Oahu home search or request a free home valuation.
