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June 20, 2024
Hunt Companies Hawai‘i and the University of Hawai‘i Foundation have selected Island Brew Coffeehouse to open in the new Walter Dods, Jr. RISE Center, the $70 million innovation center and housing community at the flagship UH Mānoa campus.
Island Brew will open in time for the Fall 2024 semester. Hunt expects that the coffee house will be a focal point for RISE Center students, the larger UH community and the general public.
While the permanent location is being constructed, Island Brew opened a RISE Center pop-up in January that serves a limited menu of coffee, espresso and food.
Island Brew is a locally owned cafe that only sells coffee grown in the state of Hawai‘i. The completed coffee house will serve a full menu of freshly made flatbreads, hot sandwiches, smoothies, acai bowls, waffles, bagels and pastries – and offer free wi-fi. RISE Center will be Island Brew’s fourth location.
Hundreds of students, faculty and staff study and work in RISE Center each day, while 374 residents live in the complex above. This prime location is convenient for the nearly 20,000 UH Mānoa students, as well as more than 1,000 faculty and staff, and many who live in the nearby communities.
Hunt, UH and the UH Foundation entered into a public-private partnership (P3) to design, build and finance the live, learn and work innovation facility. RISE Center is fully funded with private, non-taxpayer money.
