Business Monday: Tiki Turtle Cafe thrives with enthusiastic employees, new menu

After three years in customer service, Jace Hamakawa still loves his job greeting regular customers and taking their orders at Tiki Turtle Café.

“I’m more confident with people now,” Hamakawa said. “I like surprising people when I memorize their order and being part of promotions on Instagram.”

Located at The Arc of Hilo, Tiki Turtle Café not only provides good food, but offers young adults with disabilities the opportunity to learn new skills and gain work experience in a safe environment.

The Arc CEO Robert Efford and Events and Hospitality Director Binil Chacko, which opened Tiki Turtle in 2023, also are trying to help young people with developmental and physical disabilities find and keep jobs in hospitality, laundry, cleaning, lawn care and customer service.

“The Tiki Turtle Café is a natural extension of our vision to create a palette of vocational tracks for youth with disabilities,” Efford said. “Not everyone wants to be a janitor, nor should that be their only choice. We want to prepare them to work for restaurants and hotels, and acquire transferable skills like customer service and money management.”

Chacko manages Tiki Turtle, which has eight young adults with disabilities working the front counter and in the kitchen from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Chacko helped develop the café, based on the Arc of Miami’s culinary program that his brother participates in, as well as the Java Joy coffee truck in Atlanta, which only employs people with disabilities and has been very successful.

“Since we opened in 2023, we have far surpassed any goal we could have imagined, and one of the best parts has been watching more participants thrive,” Chacko said. “A large reason for that is because we have our new cook, Ang, who has taken the kitchen to a new level and is able to teach more.”

Chef Angie, who requested to keep her last name private, manages the kitchen and has come up with a completely new menu, more Dole Whip flavors and specials served weekly. She has also added baked goods specials and organic salads sourced from The Arc’s hydroponic garden to the menu.

The newest specials – Taco Tuesday and Burger Thursday – have become the busiest days of the week.

While she oversees every aspect of the kitchen, Angie is also consistently teaching skills to employees, helping them progress at their own pace and encouraging them to work independently once they have that skillset down.

“When I’m teaching here, I really get to see the progress everyone is making, and then I get to see them take the lead, which is a really special part of this job,” Angie said.

According to Efford, the café is booming with business. More tour buses and tourists visiting Rainbow Falls are coming in, as well as hospital workers and other local residents who have become regulars.

“We’ve also heard from many customers is that they come to see Jace as he remembers what they order rather quickly,” Efford said. “He makes people feel welcomed.”

Since starting at Tiki Turtle when it opened in 2023, Hamakawa has become a charismatic and confident person. While he was more shy at first, now he loves talking to customers and making them laugh with his jokes. He has even been featured on the Tiki Turtle instagram page to talk about promotions or special menu items.

“I think I’m going to try to do some history lessons on YouTube on the side because I’ve learned a lot of facts working here, too,” Hamakawa said. “I have always loved watching YouTube, but I finally feel confident enough to try it myself.”

Since Hamakawa quickly fell in love with customer service and learning how to cook in the kitchen, he decided to try the Hawaiʻi Community College’s culinary program a year ago. The experience was too fast-paced and impersonal for him, so it quickly became overwhelming and he had to stop attending.

While Hamakawa was happy to return to Tiki Turtle and continue learning through work, Chacko realized that The Arc may have more capabilities when it comes to teaching culinary arts to students.

“Our long-term goal is to build a teaching kitchen. That is the next dream,” Chacko said. “I’d like to build four kitchen stations and make a safe space for participants to learn at their pace while still progressing forward. They would learn all the same skills they learn at Hawaiʻi Community College at the same quality.”

While the idea is still in the planning phase, Chacko said there are potential pathways to make it happen, such as a partnership with Hawaiʻi Community College or private grants from famous chefs.

Regardless of what is next, Tiki Turtle will continue to provide participants with more opportunities to grow in their skills and internally as they learn how to better navigate their social and personal lives.

“What we are seeing daily now is that original mission of teaching our participants these skills so they feel confident enough to pursue it elsewhere,” Chacko said. “If life takes them somewhere else, we want them to be able to have a skillset that they feel confident and secure in. We want them to show everyone that they can do anything they set their minds to.”

On Tuesday, Tiki Turtle will provide catering to nurses at Hilo Benioff Medical Center across the street during its business hours. While it will be a busy day, Chacko and Angie hope to continue catering services at businesses and organizations in Hilo if there is interest.

The Tiki Turtle Café is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday at The Arc of Hilo, 1099 Waiānuenue Avenue, across from Hilo Benioff Medical Center and less than a mile from Rainbow Falls.

More information about The Arc and its programs can be found online at arcofhilo.org.