Specializing In Healthy Smoothies
Co-owners Heidi Hawkinson and Jason Coleman opened the doors to Leahi Health on Waialae Avenue last August, and say that within the last year of operations business has grown immensely.
“We’re trying to promote healthier alternatives and educate people to better understand what’s in their food,” Hawkinson says. “When we first started, our health bar was off the beaten path and was a little hole in the wall, but every month we slowly increased our customer base. The great thing about it is that our customers always return – they’re very loyal. Now we have a lot of regulars and it’s nice to see a lot of the same faces every day. Word has been getting around.”
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Coleman has been brewing kombucha for the past 20 years and finally had the genius idea to incorporate this probiotic tea into “green” healthy smoothies.
“Kombucha has living cultures similar to what’s found in yogurt. It’s really good for digestion and detox,” Hawkinson explains.
All smoothies at Leahi Health are blended with the fresh ingredients from farmers markets across the island.
With 10 smoothies to choose from ($5 each), King Green is the health bar’s signature creation and features kombucha, kale, spinach, ginger, pineapple and banana. Other favorites are Sweet Tweet with apple juice, mint, kale, spinach, pineapple, orange and chia seeds, and Tibetan Monk with kombucha, papaya, banana, mint and goji berries.
“We based our menu on what people like. A lot of our smoothies are actually inspired by our customers,” Hawkinson says. “For example, Jamaican Mojito, which is a blend of kombucha, pineapple, banana, mint, coconut and honey, was inspired by a customer from Jamaica, who requested we make this.
“As our business has grown, I’ve immersed myself into these healthy juices and smoothies. By blending all the fruits and vegetables together, we are able to extract all the nutrients out of it and they immediately fuel your body.”
In addition to its refreshing smoothies, Leahi Health also serves up Iced Toddy Coffee, Handcrafted Kombucha, Hummus Plate, Pesto Grilled Cheese and Surfer Bowl.
“We currently offer a handful of food items, but we’re also looking for a second, bigger location to expand. We want to offer more food and cleanses. Our chef cooks up a lot of vegan and gluten-free dishes, and we want to offer these to our customers,” Hawkinson says.
Leahi Health is located at 3441 Waialae Ave. and is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., and Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, call 388-4181.
