Late last year, I saw a post on social media about a small craft brew tasting room right in Kailua that occasionally had pop-ups for bagels, tacos or pizza night as they didn’t have their own kitchen. It was the bagels that caught my attention as one of my standby lunches during the workweek was bagel sandwiches. Sometimes topped with fat-free cream cheese and lox or sun-dried tomatoes or Niçoise olive-based tapenade or sometimes topped with cold cuts and cheese like any other sandwich. But what really caught my attention was that these were Montreal style which are usually sweeter and denser than their New York counterparts.
Because this tasting room – Grace in Growlers – actually opened for business some 4 years earlier, I did some research and found that it wasn’t like your usual craft beer tasting room at all. For starters, owners Tim and Holly Veling originally moved to Oahu after falling in love with the islands during their Maui honeymoon. When Holly’s employer, AAA offered a transfer to the 50th from San Diego, they jumped at the chance and 2 weeks later were in Hawaii. Within 3 years of arrival in the 50th, the couple set up a non-profit foundation; ONEninetynine with their first community service project Laundry Love with the couple taking over a laundromat in Kaneohe every other Saturday and paying for every patron’s load of laundry though they focus on the homeless population. ONEninetynine was initially funded by the couple collecting recyclables from local restaurants but their tasting room is now the primary source of funding. Yes, Grace in Growlers is 100% non-profit with proceeds also funding 5 children living in poverty overseas. Sip your delicious craft brew and feel good doing so.
So while our primary interest was in obtaining a sleeve (a 4-pack) of bagels, we do occasionally enjoy a libation other than wine so when we popped in to Grace in Growlers hoping that bagel sleeves were being sold that day – they weren’t – we simply purchased a couple of open faced bagel sandwiches along with a 64 ounce growler of Koa Brewing’s Espresso Bean stout as the Honolulu Liquor Commission allows alcohol take-out as long as food is also purchased.
And though the primary libation is craft beer, Grace in Growlers isn’t like the usual establishment that serves beer. Upon arrival, they first check your ID then give you an electronic “key” that tracks your purchases – you self-serve with either 4oz, 8oz of 12oz portions – and you are stopped once you hit the 36oz limit for the day. They want you to imbibe responsibly and the main seating initially were communal tables to converse with other patrons as there also are no flat screen monitors that you’ll see at other bars or brewpubs reinforcing their goal for patrons to socialize while there. However, due to COVID-19 and spacing requirements, seating is mainly four-tops appropriately spaced 6 feet apart. By the way, that Koa Brewing Espresso Bean stout was delicious! If you plan to make a trip to Grace in Growlers, you can always see what’s currently on tap at: https://untappd.com/v/grace-in-growlers/5541746
And because Grace in Growlers still doesn’t have a full-sized kitchen, they encourage you to bring food from neighboring restaurants which in turn give discounts for Grace in Growlers customers. In fact, some of them like Kono’s will actually walk your order over to Grace in Growlers.
Empty Elle’s Bagels
About two years after Grace in Growlers opened, additional space became available as The Curb in Kailua vacated the space fronting Hahani Street so Grace in Growlers expanded with an outdoor seating area and an interior that looked like… well, Grandma’s house complete with flowered wallpaper and sofas along with vintage lamps and chandelier. I’m not sure if the social distancing requirements for COVID-19 or that bagel sales started taking off but the interior had a complete renovation shedding the look of Grandma’s house and a faux bagel truck has now replaced Grandma’s sofa. Empty Elle’s currently sells open face bagel sandwiches schmeared with an assortment of various cream cheese topped with Waimanalo tomatoes or Big Island lemon butter and Kula black raspberry jam or hummus with spicy pickles or reverse bagel sandwiches like their “JLT” with Jerky Labs crisp beef jerky, lettuce and tomatoes. They also sell 4-packs of bagel sleeves – you choose one flavor that’s sold in a 4-pack with either white sesame coated, black sesame, poppy seed, plain or their everything bagel from 8:00am on Thursdays and Fridays and Saturday from 9:00 until 12:00pm … unless they run out. The bagel sandwiches are also available on Thursdays and Fridays once the beer tasting room opens.
Pizza Anyone?
Three days a week, Farmhouse Pizza does a pop-up within Grace in Growlers offering long rectangular flatbread pizza to nosh on while sampling your craft brewed beer. You can dine-in while sipping your favorite craft brew or take-out though there are best enjoyed right on the spot as those flatbread pizzas have one of the best crusts I’ve sampled on the island with just a touch of char on the edges, a very crackling, crisp exterior and chewy interior. We sampled both the Street Corn with roasted fresh corn, poblano peppers and onions on a lime crema and topped with fresh cilantro and queso fresco and The Chimi with standard tomato sauce topped with fresh spinach, bell peppers and BBQ pulled pork and homemade chimichurri sauce. I may have to find more reasons to shop at Target in Kailua since Grace in Growlers is right across the street!
The Various Hours of Operation
Grace in Growlers
Wednesday thru Friday: 4:00pm to 9:00pm
Saturday: 2:00pm to 9:00pm
Sunday: 12:00pm to 6:00pm
Empty Elle’s Bagels
Thursday and Friday: 8:00am to 12:00pm and 4:00pm to 9:00pm
Saturday: 9:00am to 12:00pm
Farmhouse Pizza
Wednesday: 4:00pm to 9:00pm
Saturday: 2:00pm to 9:00pm
Sunday: 12:00pm to 6:00pm
However, due to changing COVID tiers, I would first call to confirm their current hours at (808) 975-9317 or simply go to their respective Instagram pages:
@graceingrowlers
@emptyellebagels
@farmhousepizza.hi
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