Shaka Kitchen Quits Hoboken's Washington Street After Nearly a Decade

Shaka Kitchen has closed its longtime home at 110 Washington St. in Hoboken after operating there for nearly a decade, shifting all operations to its original storefront a few blocks away at 720 Monroe St. The fast-casual eatery, known for poke bowls, acai bowls, tacos, smoothies and house-made baked goods, announced the move in a social media post, describing the decision as difficult and necessary.

The owners had been weighing whether to keep both Hoboken storefronts running for about six months, according to NJ.com. They ultimately decided not to re-sign the lease at Washington Street, where Shaka Kitchen occupied roughly 2,400 square feet.

A Return to Where It All Began

The 720 Monroe St. address is more than just a fallback option — it was Shaka Kitchen's original Hoboken storefront, and the company has now moved operations into its recently renovated space there. The eatery originally opened in 2016 as Shaka Bowl, founded by siblings Kiersten and Krista Gormeley along with their brother Eric after a 2014 trip to Hilo, Hawaii, according to Jersey Bites. That first Monroe Street space was a compact 650 square feet with 18 seats, while the Washington Street location that opened in 2018 was a much larger 2,300-square-foot restaurant seating 54 guests — a scale the owners eventually found too costly to sustain alongside a smaller second store.

According to the City of Hoboken, the redevelopment plan for 930 Monroe includes three 11-story mixed-use buildings, a protected bike lane and a pedestrian path. According to the City of Hoboken, the planned 800 Monroe Resiliency Park would utilize up to $15 million in community benefit payments from the 930 Monroe Street redevelopment.

Executive chef and co-founder Kiersten Gormeley brings some added culinary credibility to the brand: she won an episode of Food Network's Chopped in May 2021, and Patch identifies her as a thyroid-cancer survivor, per Patch. That same drive toward clean-eating options shaped the original concept the sisters brought to Hoboken from Hawaii.

Betting on Morristown Instead of a Second Hoboken Store

Rather than treating the Washington Street exit as a retreat, Shaka Kitchen's owners say they plan to seek new locations in other towns. The chain already expanded beyond Hudson County in April 2024 with a 20-seat location at 62 South Street in Morristown. The Hoboken store now operates from the Monroe Street location.

Shaka Kitchen's pullback fits into a broader pattern reshaping fast-casual dining. Industry research from the National Restaurant Association found that 80 percent of consumers had made dining out more calculated and were using discounts, according to On The Alley. The findings point to more cautious consumer spending and greater use of discounts, but do not establish how those trends have affected restaurant footprints.

French Cafe Chain Maman Eyed for the Vacant Space

With the Washington Street space now vacant, attention has turned to potential new tenants. Maman is a French-inspired cafe chain. Maman describes itself as a neighborhood cafe inspired by family recipes and the French countryside, and the brand was founded in 2014 in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood by husband-and-wife team Benjamin Sormonte and Elisa Marshall.

Maman opened its first Garden State location in Jersey City in 2022, setting up at 70 Hudson Street near Exchange Place along the waterfront. The brand's offerings include its Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookie. The 110 Washington Street storefront is on Washington Street in Hoboken.

Part of a Wider Wave of Lease Turnover Downtown

Shaka Kitchen's departure adds to a string of long-term lease transitions in downtown Hoboken. In March, 10-year fixture Roost Outpost closed its coffee shop at 55 1st Street after failing to secure a lease renewal, a case that echoes the same kind of decade-long tenancy pressures now facing Shaka Kitchen. For now, loyal customers can still find their poke bowls and acai just a short walk from where the brand's Washington Street doors once stood.