Kauaʻi Coffee postpones Community Mahalo Party as severe weather threatens the Garden Island

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 1:30 p.m. on August 14.

Kauaʻi Coffee has postponed its Community Mahalo Party, originally scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 15, due to the potential for severe weather forecast for Kaua‘i this weekend.

The company said the decision was made with the safety of guests, employees, and the community as its top priority. Kauaʻi Coffee plans to reschedule the event and said it will announce a new date in the coming weeks.

The company thanked the community for its understanding and continued support, saying it values its relationships with residents and looks forward to celebrating together at a later date.

Original Post: After nearly two years of uncertainty about its future, Kauaʻi Coffee Co. is marking its next chapter by inviting the people who helped keep it brewing to come raise a cup.

On Saturday, the company will host a community celebration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its visitor center for an afternoon of music, food, farm tours, family activities — and plenty of coffee.

The gathering comes less than two months after Kauaʻi Coffee and landowner Brue Baukol Capital Partners reached a 15-year lease agreement, ending a long-running dispute that threatened the future of one of Kauaʻi’s largest agricultural employers.

When the previous lease agreement approached its March expiration, Kauaʻi Coffee issued worker adjustment and retraining notification notices to employees.

The possibility of losing the coffee company, which also was a major tourist attraction, sent concern rippling through the West Kauaʻi community and the United States.

Both sides were finally able to reach a deal June 25.

The new agreement keeps Kauaʻi Coffee operating on roughly 3,100 acres and preserves the company’s local workforce of about 126.

Kauaʻi Coffee senior adviser Wayne Katayama said plans also include hiring another 30 to 40 workers as agricultural operations return to normal.

Kauaʻi Coffee is now handing out free cups instead of goodbye cups.

The Saturday event is billed as a celebration of gratitude and aloha, beginning at 10 a.m. with a blessing ceremony led by Puni and Troy Waialeale.

Live entertainment will include Hi‘ipoi, West Kauaʻi heritage performers and taiko drummers.

There also will be food, drinks, shopping specials, free coffee giveaways and activities aimed at keeping younger visitors busy, including bounce houses. Farm tour rides will give guests a chance to see the sprawling coffee estate beyond the visitor center.

The event gives Kauaʻi Coffee a chance to celebrate something bigger than a lease.

Kauaʻi Coffee is an important agricultural operation and visitor attraction on the island, managing millions of coffee trees and producing between 1 million and 2 million pounds of green coffee annually.

The lease agreement followed a wave of community support during negotiations.

Katayama credited elected officials, Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau, International Longshore and Warehouse Union, residents and customers with helping push talks toward a resolution.

During a July briefing to the Kauaʻi County Council, Katayama thanked the community on behalf of the company’s employees and their families.

Landowner Brue Baukol also acknowledged the community’s role.

Kauaʻi Coffee Vice President James Priestley said the agreement recognized the firm’s importance not only as a business but as an employer, agricultural institution and part of the island’s identity.

The new lease also provides some breathing room for the farm to look ahead.

During the uncertainty earlier this year, Kauaʻi Coffee paused hiring and scaled back some routine agricultural work.

The company added that its 2025 harvest was among its strongest, while this year’s crop suffered setbacks from disrupted farming schedules after Kauaʻi Coffee paused hiring and scaled back some routine agricultural work; however, the 2026 crop showed promising fruit development.