The southernmost bakery in the United States, Punalu’u Bake Shop, was among the businesses devastated when Hurricane Lala tore through the southern Big Island. Floodwater entered the Naalehu property, leaving its retail and production areas under roughly three feet of mud. The bakery closed, suspended online sales and refunded pending orders while it began assessing the damage.
What caught our attention afterward was the response. Punalu’u said it received hundreds of emails and thousands of social media messages, and reading through them made clear that people weren’t simply worried about where they would buy their next malasadas.
Visitors wrote about honeymoons, birthdays, parents, late spouses, and family traditions that stretch across generations. One said Punalu’u had been part of every Big Island visit for decades, while another remembered buying bread there on a 2003 honeymoon and making sandwiches for a picnic at Punalu’u Black Sand Beach.
One family had celebrated a son’s 13th birthday there just days before Lala, and a woman who said she may never make it back to Hawaii remembered buying goodies with her late husband on every visit and hoped she could eventually order online again.
Our last visit to Punalu’u Bakery was in December on our way to Hawaii Volcanoes. We stopped for their famous malasadas, as many travelers have before.
Below is the official video media release from Punalu’u Bake Shop posted on their Facebook page.
Far more people stop here than we ever realized.
The scale of the outpouring surprised us. Shortly before Lala, the baker said it had been getting nearly 700,000 annual visitors, with up to 5,000 people passing through on some days and up to 2,000 malasadas sold daily.
Those are big numbers for a bakery located so far from the Big Island’s major resort areas. Punalu’u opened in 1991, although the sweet bread that helped establish it dates to the 1970s, and over time the Highway 11 location became a natural break on one of the island’s longest visitor drives.
The comments describe that role better than any tourism statistic could. Again and again, people called Punalu’u a must on every visit, their regular break between Hilo and Kona or Kona and Volcano, somewhere they went after Black Sand Beach, or simply one of the places their family always included. Some remembered breakfast and local musicians in the garden, while others talked about taking malasadas to the airport or ordering taro rolls from the mainland between visits.
Its importance goes well beyond visitors.
Punalu’u also fills an economic role that is easy to overlook from the parking lot. Management has said the decision to keep the business in remote Ka’u rather than move closer to Kona or Hilo was intentional, providing jobs and career opportunities in an area where residents often travel considerable distances in order to work.
There were responses from people whose connection was both local and personal. One former employee called Punalu’u the best job they ever had, while others asked about friends, relatives, and the surrounding Ka’u community. Many wanted to know how they could help, asking about donation funds, buying products when sales resume, and contributing from the mainland.
The bakery has not announced a reopening date. Production remains halted while the damage is evaluated, and repairs can begin at this iconic roadside stop.
The current situation at Naalehu from a Beat of Hawaii reader living there.
Andy, who lives in the same community as Punalu’u Bake Shop, reported to us today.
“To say that it is a disaster zone is an understatement. The level of cleanup, rebuilding, and the work to get just basic infrastructure in place, like power and running water, is overwhelming. Visitors arriving to the island really should consider seriously about taking long drives to various sites around the island. There are numerous hazards among all of the highways leading to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, as well as the more scenic route along the north side of the island. People traveling into Kona might as well just stay there. Just being on the road impacts those that really need to get to where they need to go from the west side along the southern part of the island, there’s absolutely no access to Pahala and any place east. Access to HVNP is cut off; the highway down through Waiohinu is closed. Many arrive and go straight to Costco to get their essentials. I will tell you those essentials are wiped out. People are buying water and other necessary supplies.”
One stop became part of the Big Island trip.
We’ve driven past plenty of businesses in Hawaii that attract enormous visitor traffic without becoming something people remember years later. Punalu’u is clearly different, partly because of its location and partly because so many of these comments trace relationships with the place across years, marriages, children, and losses. For some families, returning there became a familiar part of coming back to the Big Island.
For now, one of the Big Island’s most familiar road-trip stops is off the itinerary. Judging by the messages that followed, plenty of visitors are already thinking about the day they can pull off Highway 11 there once again.
Has Punalu’u Bake Shop become part of your Big Island trips too? What do you remember most about stopping there?
By Rob and Jeff, Beat of Hawaii.
Some of the most meaningful parts of Hawaii are the ones visitors walk right past without knowing they are there. We’ve spent nearly 20 years finding them firsthand for BOH as full-time Hawaii residents reporting on travel, culture, and island life, and telling you what they mean for your trip. Join us →
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
Our first trip to the big island, other than two stops on a cruise, was 2010. A concierge told us about the Punalu’u Bake Shop, in addition to several other “must sees.” We stopped there on the way to the volcano national park. I fell in LOVE with lilikoi malasadas!!! We have been back to the big island a dozen times and have gone to the bakery every time, no matter where we stayed on the island. One time my husband did not want to get on the road early, and when we arrived at the bakery, 1 hr 25 min drive, they were out of lilikoi malasadas. I was soooo disappointed!!! I then found out you can call in orders ahead of time, and I’ve done that ever since. I, like all other bakery fans, hope they can rebuild and open again. However, my thoughts of the owners and all of their employees are greater. We were there July 3rd this year, and the servers were so nice, helpful and kind. It’s such and Aloha feeling!!! We will look for a way to contribute to their needs online.
Seriously folks, Hawai’i County Civil Defense is appealing for all people to refrain from driving down to Ka’u district. Apparently “disaster tourists” are creating bottlenecks and impeding recovery crews and aid workers. Please be better than this!
Actual tears for losing Punalu’u Bake Shop. Regular stop along with Black Sand beach from Kona to eastside since 1993. We moved to Las Vegas after living in Kona for 30 years and found Leilani’s Attic here who shipped to LV. Just finished our last guava bread a couple of days ago.
I hope Ka’u can rebuild quickly. It looks so bad. 😭
Heartbreaking news.
The Bake shop was one our favorite places in Hawaii. An oasis of Aloha during the long drive. Everyone there was always so welcoming. The food and merch were awesome, but the Aloha was the secret ingredient.
I pray they can find a new location within a mile or two to rebuild.
.
The first time my husband and I visited this shop was in 2011 while, you guessed it, on a Hawaiian Volcanoes tour. Instantly got addicted to their malasadas. So far, we’ve been there 10 times, twice each time we’ve visited Hawaii, the last bring in 2017. I cried when I watched the video above.
Being a former Floridian who survived a similar situation thanks to Hurricanes Francis and Jeanne back in 2006, I understand somewhat what these residents are and will be going through.
My heart goes out to all affected. Much ❤️ and many 🫂 to everyone.
Mahalo for your kind words and tribute to bakery. I can tell you 1st hand about the destruction of the bakery. Was with my son (GM) as we surveyed the damage. So proud of him for the love and care he has for the bakery, employees and customers. His biggest concern has been that all employees and ohana were safe. Proud and blessed to live in this community. Roads are passable in town because of towns people not government. Bakery workers made food from home and came to a gathering place to feed anyone at no cost. This is why the bakery is so loved, people not product. Mahalo to all the customers for love and support.
I would urge tourists to not venture south of Kona. The narrow highway is being used to shuttle daily water and emergency supplies to those who live in Ocean View, Waiohinu, Naalehu, and Pahala. You would simply be getting in the way. Please don’t be that person.
So sad! Stopped at Punalu’u Bakeshop last year on a family holiday to buy a few extra loaves of the famous pink bread (my kids called it “unicorn bread”) on our way to the airport to head home from the Big Island. Nice people, excellent bread, amazing memories. Nothing like it.
Sadly, we were in Lahaina not long before the fire decimated that town, as well, and had similarly enjoyable experiences there.
Hurting for the island and the people facing tremendous loss right now.
Yes, the Ka’u district got hit hard. From Oceanview to Pahala there are problems for sure. However, the Ka’u district is one of the least populated on the Big Island and 90% of the island is doing just fine, 4 days after the hurricane past. Almost all the power is restored. I didn’t notice any shortages at Costco on Tuesday. The hustle and bustle of Kialua-Kona is totally normal as are the resorts. People are snorkeling, shopping, eating out, sunbathing, etc. At my home in South Kona, we had no impact from the storm. I had a lot of plumeria blossoms fall onto the lawn, a neighbor had one branch fall from a tree. It’s not as bad as everyone makes it out to be, for drama’s sake I guess. Godspeed to Ka’u area who are struggling of course.