After Two Years of Uncertainty for its Future, Kauaʻi Coffee Co Hosts Community Celebration Following a New 15 Year Land Lease – CoffeeTalk

Kauaʻi Coffee Co. is marking a significant transition following nearly two years of uncertainty regarding its future. The company is hosting a community celebration on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its visitor center, featuring music, food, farm tours, family activities, and coffee. This event comes just two months after Kauaʻi Coffee secured a 15-year lease agreement with landowner Brue Baukol Capital Partners, which successfully ended a prolonged dispute that jeopardized one of Kauaʻi’s largest agricultural employers. As the previous lease was set to expire in March, Kauaʻi Coffee had to issue worker adjustment and retraining notices to its employees, raising concerns within the local community and beyond.

Senior adviser Wayne Katayama expressed gratitude towards the council and community for their support during the challenging negotiations, which culminated in an agreement reached on June 25. The new lease allows Kauaʻi Coffee to maintain operations on approximately 3,100 acres, preserving its workforce of about 126 employees, with plans to hire an additional 30 to 40 workers as operations normalize. The celebration event is described as one of gratitude and aloha, starting with a blessing ceremony and featuring live performances, food, shopping specials, free coffee giveaways, and activities for children, including bounce houses and farm tours.

Kauaʻi Coffee is integral to the local agricultural landscape, managing around 4 million coffee trees and producing 1 to 2 million pounds of green coffee each year. The lease agreement was facilitated by strong community backing during negotiations, with Katayama acknowledging contributions from elected officials, the Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, as well as residents and customers. Vice President James Priestley highlighted the agreement’s recognition of Kauaʻi Coffee’s significance as a business and employer while being an essential part of the island’s identity. The lease offers the company a more stable outlook as it navigates the challenges posed by recent uncertainties and looks ahead to a promising 2026 crop harvest.

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