Business Monday: Multigenerational farm Lions Gate Coffee looking for new owners

For more than a century, coffee has been grown on a family farm at Lions Gate in South Kona.

Now, the business is for sale along with a piece of the 15-acre working farm. The owners, Suzanne Shriner and her partner, are ready to retire after “years of grinding it out,” said the real estate listing on Sunbelt of Hawai‘i.

The listing for $1.55 million includes 5 acres on leasehold land and a 2,350-square-foot home. The coffee business includes 1,938 coffee trees, fruit trees, solar power, a fairly new coffee mill, a historic working coffee mill and multiple outbuildings on the property. The property also has panoramic mountain and coastline views.

Brent Wenner, with Sunbelt Business Brokers Hawai‘i, has been focused on selling the business for about six months. While Shriner is looking to step away from the business, Wenner said, she will remain on the other 10 acres, but provide the new owner access to the coffee and macadamia nut trees on that acreage.

Attempts to reach Shriner were unsuccessful.

The farm’s modern mill was built approximately 10 years ago, with all major equipment installed at that time. “Every piece of processing machinery is under 10 years old and operating at full efficiency,” the listing said.

The farm’s historic 1942 mill structure remains on the property as a piece of living farm history. Wenner said the historic mill is still operational.

The farm has a roaster, and distribution is already set up.

“Whether you’re an experienced farmer, a coffee enthusiast, or someone ready for a meaningful lifestyle change, Lions Gate Coffee is ready for its next chapter,” the listing reads.

The business’ website says “Kona coffee is prized the world over as a gourmet coffee: rich, smooth and delicious. Our Kona is hand-picked, processed and sun-dried right here on the slopes of Mauna Loa volcano. We take the beans from tree to roast and guarantee a cup of coffee you will love.”

This multigenerational farm is on leasehold land that is owned by Bishop Estates. Most of the agricultural land in South Kona is owned by Bishop Estates. Those farmers or homeowners in those areas pay a periodic lease rent to the estate.

Wenner said there have been a lot of people interested in the business. He said numerous individuals have filled out the non-disclosure agreements as a first step in talking about the farm.

“The biggest pushback right now is the leasehold property,” Wenner said, adding that interested buyers from out-of-state don’t understand the process.

Wenner, who focuses on selling agriculture businesses, said it is becoming more common for generational coffee farms to go up for sale because the younger generation is not interested in the lifestyle.

“I think there’s always probably one or two on the market at any given time,” Wenner said. “Some have roasters, some have processing, some have distribution. Others are just farms.”

Lions Gate Coffee Farm is listed on 12 platforms. Wenner said three of those are public-facing, as most interested buyers have to sign a non-disclosure agreement before they can release detailed information about the farm and its business.

Wenner said Lions Gate is unique because it has great distribution and name recognition. That includes distribution not only on the mainland but internationally.

The farm also has side businesses built in, including a macadamia nut distribution business. Lions Gate works with Kona Bar.

“They’ve got an incredible model set up for using all parts of the coffee,” Wenner said.