Renowned Molokai Hot Bread Run A Hit In Honolulu

For those of you who have had the original experience seen in the video below, the red door still marks one of the hottest nightspots on sleepy Molokai. It rises to the occasion with yeast. You can take some dough with you and get some dough in return. The nightly Hot Bread Run is where locals and visitors intersect every night except Monday.

When your Hawaii vacation doesn’t call for travel to sleepy Molokai, you still can have a form of this iconic Hawaii experience. Read on for details of their uber-successful Hawaii location.

Molokai Hot Bread Run is New York Times, Anthony Bourdain and James Beard Approved.

If you didn’t think that the bread run was seriously famous, and for good reason, it is. The late Anthony Bourdain featured it once on Parts Unknown, it’s been written about by the New York Times, and was even a semifinalist for the renowned James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Baker. The NYT said, “with a stop at the deceptively derelict-looking Kanemitsu Bakery (whose papaya bread and sweet bread made fabulous toast), we always had the makings of a feast.”

The original bakery was founded nearly 90 years ago by the Kanemitsu brothers, and is still family owned and operated. Kanemitsu Bakery is found on the main drag in Kaunakakai. The bakery in the back is always running at full speed. Park your car in front and venture down the dim-lit alley to the right. Follow your nose to the second alley and you have arrived at the Hot Bread Run.

Every so often the red door opens and bread would get handed over. This bread is like a party-size, slightly sour dough donut with your choice of filling. The night we were last there, the menu offered Strawberry, Blueberry, Cream Cheese, Cinnamon, and Butter.

Molokai Hot Bread is now found in Honolulu.

You can enjoy the hot bread run via the Molokai Hot Bread food truck that arrived in Honolulu about four years ago. We haven’t tried the new format, and, for us, is honestly more than half the fun was the original experience, rather than the soft, gooey bread. Totally unique. The truck is quite successful, however, and serves up to 1,000 loaves daily before selling out.

Baked fresh daily using the original secret recipe passed down from the Kanemitsu Bakery, the truck can be found at varying locations around the island. A monthly schedule is available on the food truck’s website or on Facebook.

When on Molokai, Kanemitsu Bakery is located at 79 Ala Malama Avenue in Kaunakakai. It’s almost reason enough to hop a flight. 

Updated 4/2/22/