Photo Courtesy ELEVEN
HONOLULU – ELEVEN, a new cocktail bar by Foodland featuring artisanal cocktails, delectable bites and cocktail-inspired desserts, will open in Foodland Farms Ala Moana on Thursday, December 9 just in time for the holidays.
“This newest addition to Foodland Farms Ala Moana was born from the suggestions of the many customers who frequent the store’s wine bar and wanted a place to enjoy great cocktails and food with friends,” said Jenai S. Wall, Foodland Chairman and CEO. “Their idea intrigued and inspired us, and after having to delay our planned March 2020 opening due to the pandemic, we’re excited to finally share ELEVEN with them and our entire community.”
Tucked away on the Piikoi Street side of Foodland Farms Ala Moana, ELEVEN’s 1,100-square-foot space designed by The Vanguard Theory offers customers an environment that is welcoming, comfortable, stylish, and unlike anything seen in Hawaii. ELEVEN offers table seating for up to 43 guests and standing room for 18.
The name ELEVEN pays homage to Foodland’s original Ala Moana Shopping Center store, which opened in 1959, and was the local, family-owned company’s eleventh location. ELEVEN celebrates the evolution of the Ala Moana store over its many years in business and ever-evolving tastes of Foodland customers seeking new experiences and discoveries.
ELEVEN’s menu of signature and classic cocktails was crafted by Foodland Corporate Mixologist Matt Rosskopf, who created the cocktail menus for et al., Redfish Poke Bar by Foodland, and Pau Hana bar at Foodland Farms Pearl City. Festive cocktails to celebrate the season include The Woodsman, made with Clyde’s May Bourbon, Brovo Douglas Fir Liqueur, Green Chartreuse, and Carpano Dry vermouth, and the Safe Winter Port Cobbler with Fonseca Siroco Dry White Port, Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao, Cognac Park Fin Boi, and Muddled Pineapple.
ELEVEN’s must-sip cocktails, available year-round, include:
• 400 Rabbits. ELEVEN’s signature small-batched cocktail is a compelling mash-up of Tequila Fortaleza, Yellow Chartreuse and cacao liqueurs, fresh orange and lime juices, rooibos tea and – this is for real – goat’s milk.
• The Hemingway Daiquiri. Imagine fresh lime and grapefruit juices sweetened with a hint of maraschino liqueur, and rife with its namesake’s spirit of choice, rum – in ELEVEN’s take, a white rum from Kauai’s Kōloa Rum Co.
• The Kakaako Mule. The Moscow Mule gets local with flavors of fresh pineapple! It includes cantaloupe juice, ginger beer, a touch of heat from fresh serrano chili, and Buffalo Trace Wheatly Vodka.
• The Islay to London Martini. Islay is a Scottish island best-known among whiskey enthusiasts for its peaty, smoky scotch. London gins are famously dry and juniper rich. These two British Isles locales meet in this lively Tanqueray No. 10 gin martini tempered by a Laphroaig 10-year scotch wash.
The creative mind behind ELEVEN’s menu of bar snacks and small bites is Foodland Chef de Cuisine Rebekah “Bekah” DeCosta, who crafted many of the food offerings. In addition to tasty and absolutely addicting bar snacks like popcorn made with bacon fat and topped with toasted parmesan and sage, or house-fried potato chips with garlic salt, vinegar, tabasco, and a Worcestershire aioli, DeCosta’s food menu for ELEVEN features mouthwatering bites, all on a variety of toasted artisan breads. Must-order dishes include:
• Butter Poached Shrimp. Think poached shrimp drizzled with warm butter and topped with fresh celery leaves, chives and tarragon crème fraiche on crisp brioche.
• Sake-cured Salmon. Pumpernickel toast topped with cured salmon and coriander cream cheese, finished with pickled cucumber and radish, and everything bagel seasoning.
• Za’atar Roasted Beets. A block rockin’ beet combo of roasted za’atar beets, pickled beet tops and beet hummus layered with feta cheese and spiced honey on seeded rye, topped with toasted pumpkin seeds.
• Lacinato Kale. A bright and briny union of large-leaf Italian kale, white anchovies and avocado, topped with a truffle lemon vinaigrette on garlic focaccia.
Foodland Corporate Pastry Chef Brian Sung and Pastry Chef Rick Chang created ELEVEN’s trio of creative cocktail-inspired Sweet Symphony desserts, ideal whether you’re finishing off an evening in the bar, or just dropping in for dessert. Don’t miss the tastebud-tempting Mocha Bon Bons, crafted with Hawaiian rum ganache and a kiss of local coffee, “Old Fashioned” Cream Puffs, and Fromage Panna Cotta.
“ELEVEN welcomes everyone looking to hit the ‘pause’ button for a little while, to decompress and enjoy our house-crafted cocktails and inventive, delicious plays on classic bar snacks and savory toasts,” said Foodland’s chief food officer, Chef Keoni Chang. “ELEVEN is a remarkable contrast – a modern, stylish, yet comfortable and simple cocktail bar and small bites getaway in, of all places, a grocery store.”
Initially set to open in March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, ELEVEN was recently recognized by the IIDA Hawaii Pacific Chapter for its interior design. On October 21, 2021, ELEVEN garnered two 2021 Ho‘ohuli Awards, a mark of exceptional commercial design, vetted by seasoned and trusted leaders in the national interior design community: the Maker award for the design and fabrication of a locally made custom interiors element, and the new Ike Po‘okela award which was presented to one outstanding project in any category and selected by the award committee.
“We collaborated with artist Summer Kapanui to create a distinctive design feature for Foodland’s new ELEVEN, said Michelle Jaime, principal creative director for The Vanguard Theory. “The wall sculpture was created out of organic hala (dried palms), resulting in a dramatic, high-impact visual adding cultural depth to our design. “ELEVEN is a wonderful example of our commitment to storytelling through the spaces we transform.”
ELEVEN is located in Foodland Farms Ala Moana at Ala Moana Center and may be accessed through the store or the bar’s Piikoi Street entrance after the store closes. ELEVEN will be open from 4 to 11 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and 4 p.m. to midnight, Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit elevenhnl.com or follow us on Instagram at @eleven.hnl.
