Kauaʻi Coffee Faces Lease Deadline Threatening 141 Local Jobs

Kauaʻi Coffee Co. informed county leaders during a Jan. 7 Council meeting that its land lease expires in late March and that the landowner, Brue Baukol Capital Partners, has publicly indicated it is not willing to renew the lease under the current terms. Company senior advisor Wayne Katayama, joined by employees, said the operation employs 141 people across farming, processing, roasting, retail and tours, and operates roughly 3,000 acres planted with about 4 million trees.

Katayama warned there is a hard deadline of March 28, 2026 for the lease, and said staff could receive termination notices soon if no resolution is reached. He stressed the complexity of transferring or relocating the integrated business because of specialized infrastructure, heavy equipment and institutional knowledge built up over years. As an outcome that would blunt economic harm, he described an ideal solution as a multi-year "off-ramp" that would preserve jobs and ongoing operations while a longer-term plan is put in place.

Council members expressed concern about the potential for immediate job losses, ripple effects on the island's agricultural economy and the loss of deep community ties that the company has maintained through local employment and visitor services. Kauaʻi Coffee's operation is not only a production facility but also a tourist destination, and disruptions could affect retail sales and visitor experiences that contribute to local spending.

The parcel was sold to Brue Baukol Capital Partners in 2022 and has been marketed for sale since; county officials noted parts of the acreage have been designated for potential development. That history raises questions about future land use and the preservation of agricultural acreage on Kauaʻi. For a business of this scale, moving operations would be capital-intensive and time-consuming, and abrupt closure would eliminate both seasonal and year-round positions that support households across the island.

The situation places local policymakers and the landowner at a crossroads: negotiate a temporary extension to protect employment and the agricultural base, or pursue alternatives that could reduce farm acreage and convert sections of the property to different uses. With the March 28 deadline approaching, county leaders face immediate pressure to weigh economic, community and land-use considerations while searching for options to avert a sudden disruption to one of Kauaʻi's largest coffee producers.