Honolulu’s newest brewery quietly opened in Aloha Tower Marketplace two weeks ago, with a singular stated mission. Lē‘ahi Brewing Co. was created to help restore the ecology of the slopes of Diamond Head. Its founders, CEO Mary Demonteverde and chief brewing officer Mike Romeo, have been doing just that at Kuilei Cliffs, where volunteers are replacing invasive species with native plants.
“We know we aren’t going to be around forever, so for our mission to continue it has to be sustainable,” Demonteverde says. “That requires financial backing, so we decided to open a brewery to ensure Kuilei Cliffs continues.”
Aloha Tower, long a beacon welcoming visitors to the Islands, has seen tremendous change over the decades. Lē‘ahi Brewing’s waterfront site, once home to Hooters and Gordon Biersch, is now part of a complex mostly taken over by Hawai‘i Pacific University; many of the commercial areas remain empty. Demonteverde and Romeo jumped at the chance to add a new chapter to the story.
On the waterfront overlooking Honolulu Harbor, Lē‘ahi Brewing is all open air, with seating in the beer garden plus oversized chairs, bar stools and tables inside. All the planters feature Hawai‘i endemic species…