Jesse's Coffee Shop, the last remaining Jesse's bakery in Kalihi, will close for good at 2 p.m. on Monday as the founding Badua family retires. Longtime customers flocked in over the weekend to grab their favorite pandesal, pianomo, and other house specialties before the final closing.
The bakery was started by Jesse and Remy Badua in 1974 at Moanalua Shopping Center and once expanded to multiple Oʻahu locations. Over time, the business scaled back to the Kalihi location, which is now shutting down after more than 50 years, with many items already sold out during the last weekend, according to Hawaii News Now.
Where it sits
The Kalihi storefront sits near the corner of North King and Kohou streets, listed at 1101 N King St in business directories. MapQuest identifies the shop as a well-known stop for early-morning patrons making their rounds in the neighborhood.
Family and community
"I'm still grieving in my head about it. It's like a family member dying almost," said Carolyn Badua Lagua, the founders' granddaughter, reflecting on how her grandparents emigrated from San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte and built the business, per Hawaii News Now. She said the bakery served as a gathering place where customers swapped stories, backed church events and packed boxes of pastries to send to family on other islands.
A shrinking roster of neighborhood spots
Jesse's closure lands as other long-running Oʻahu cafés and bakeries have also announced shutdowns or cutbacks in recent months. Coffee Gallery's exit from the North Shore after nearly four decades has highlighted how the landscape is shifting for beloved local hangouts.
For many customers, Jesse's was never just a bakery; it was a home away from home where recipes, stories and memories passed between generations along with the pastry boxes. As the Badua family steps into retirement, regulars say they will hang on to those memories and, whenever they can, try to recreate the flavors that defined the Kalihi institution.
