In December 2005, Tushar Dubey and his wife, Ana, decided to open Hokulani Bake Shop which specializes in custom cookies and cupcakes made from scratch without artificial ingredients or substitutes. The bakery is named, in part, after Hokulani Elementary School in Manoa, Tushar’s Alma matter. Born and raised in Honolulu, Tushar’s family came from India after his father was accepted to the MBA program at the University of Hawaii. Tushar moved to Pittsburgh to attend Carnegie Mellon University and received a degree in economics and public policy. At that time, he was very involved in the world of technology.
Ana, his future wife, was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia. Ana received a degree in marketing, and worked for Time Warner. The couple met in New York City while Ana was on vacation, and remained in contact via phone and e-mail after Ana went back to Colombia. In January 2004, Ana came to Hawaii for the first time and lived in Honolulu for six months. In October of that same year, Tushar went to visit Ana in Colombia. The couple was married in February 2005, a month after Ana moved permanently to Honolulu, celebrating their marriage with three ceremonies, a Hindu ceremony in India, where Tushar’s extended family is from, a Christian ceremony in Colombia, where Ana’s family lives, and of course a local barefoot ceremony in Honolulu.
The bakery opened its doors at Restaurant Row, along with a small kiosk at Ala Moana, in December 2005. Even though they decided to close the kiosk, the bakery has remained opened and the cupcakes and cookies at Hokulani Bake Shop continue to invite customers young and old.
“I remember my parents telling me that whatever I chose to do, strive to do the very best,” Tushar said.
And only the best is what the bakery offers, using only real ingredients, butter instead of margarine, and locally-produced eggs instead of frozen substitutes. Ana and Tushar strive to bring only the best and freshest of ingredients to their customers. The most popular item is the moist and silky, red-velvet cupcake with a cream cheese frosting. The bakery also makes custom cookies in all shapes and sizes, decorating the cookies for just about any occasion. And, for customers who stop in on Wednesdays, freshly-made brownies are available.
“One of the best things about our business is that it is very creative and custom, and we are able to interact with our customers,” Ana added.
Both Ana and Tushar agreed that the first two years of a retail business can be extremely difficult and that there are sacrifices that have to be made. However, they also agreed that there is a joy in being able to be part of their customers’ lives through cupcakes and cookies for special events and occasions. Because of Tushar’s long sought-after vision, and Ana’s perfectionist techniques, after only two years, Hokulani Bakery is exceeding both Tushar’s and Ana’s expectations.
In whatever free time they get, Ana and Tushar love to travel, and recently completed a two-week vacation to India and China. They admit that prior to opening the bakery, they used to hike almost every week along various trails on the east side of Oahu.
Ana and Tushar consider themselves to be a mom-and-pop business, and they would like to become a household name for quality baked goods.
“We’re only as good as our last cupcake,” Tushar smiled. The couple has plans to introduce new flavors and launch a privatelabel brand of baby clothing, Made from Scratch, and sell Hokulani merchandise such as T-shirts and other apparel. Hokulani Bake Shop is located in Restaurant Row at 500 Ala Moana Blvd #4B.
