Our Story
From a single vacant big-box space in Kaka’ako to Hawaii’s largest indoor marketplace — this is the story of Ohana Hale.
How It All Started
In January 2018, Ohana Hale Marketplace began building out a 60,000 square foot former Sports Authority space at 404 Ward Avenue in Honolulu’s Kaka’ako neighborhood. By October 2018 we had our grand opening, welcoming hundreds of local vendors, artisans, and restaurateurs who needed an affordable, flexible space to launch and grow their businesses.
At our peak we hosted over 250 individual vendors and 50 restaurants under one roof — all operating on a month-to-month basis with no long-term lease commitments. We provided storage, electricity, air conditioning, shared commercial kitchens, a live music stage, and a clean, well-maintained environment that became a beloved community destination in the heart of Honolulu.
Ohana Hale Marketplace operated successfully for over four years, generating thousands of daily visitors and becoming a launchpad for hundreds of small businesses across Hawaii. Many of our vendors used OHM as their starting point before graduating to their own permanent locations — a testament to the power of our incubator model.
Our Mission
Ohana Hale Marketplace exists to create opportunity. We believe that every person with a great idea, a family recipe, or a handmade product deserves a chance to build a business — without the burden of a long-term lease, without the risk of a large upfront investment, and without having to go it alone.
We do this by transforming large vacant retail spaces into thriving, air-conditioned indoor marketplaces — filled with local vendors, restaurants, live music, and community events. We take the risk, we do the build-out, and we manage everything. All a vendor needs to do is show up and sell.
Our Leadership
John T. Weaver
[Bio placeholder — John T. Weaver, Co-Founder. Insert biography here.]
Christopher Ulu
[Bio placeholder — Christopher Ulu, Co-Founder. Insert biography here.]