New Sips in Central Oʻahu: The Matcha Social Opens at Pearlridge Saturday, and Wahiawā Gets a Drive-Thru Coffee Stop

Central Oʻahu’s drink scene has two new reasons for a detour. One is a matcha bar opening this weekend at Pearlridge from the family behind a popular Lao food truck. The other is a Wahiawā coffee shop opened last month by a husband and wife who grew up in town. Here’s what to know about both, plus one more Wahiawā spot if you’re making a morning of it.

The Matcha Social: grand opening Saturday at Pearlridge

• When: Grand opening Saturday, Nov. 7, at 10 a.m.
• Where: Pearlridge Downtown, in front of the escalators
• Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday (according to Hawaii News Now)

The Matcha Social is moving from mobile to a storefront. Co-owner and founder Tamara Chandara and her husband also own Saap Saap HI, a Lao fusion food truck known for its house-made Lao sausages, Hawaii News Now reported. According to the station, nearly three years of running the truck led Chandara to another passion: specialty drinks.

The menu leans fun. In a preview on Hawaii News Now Sunrise, Chandara and her son, Shaiden Lam-Ganal, showed off a pumpkin pie matcha, a kinako brown sugar drink, a strawberry matcha and an iced Biscoff coffee cloud for a Halloween-themed look at the menu.

There’s serious tea behind it, too. Chandara said the ceremonial-grade matcha comes from Hon-Yama in Shizuoka, Japan. It’s made from the Yabukita cultivar and harvested in the first flush by a third-generation family producer whose operations date to 1948. Hawaii News Now reports that the café also prioritizes organic and local ingredients.

Wahiawā Brewed: hometown coffee with a drive-thru

• Where: 70 Kamehameha Highway, Wahiawā
• Hours: 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; closed Monday and Wednesday (as reported by Aloha State Daily at opening)
• Instagram: @wahiawabrewed

Randy and Rachael Raquino were both born and raised in Wahiawā. They opened Wahiawā Brewed in a former barber shop on Kamehameha Highway and held a grand opening on Oct. 17, Aloha State Daily reported. You can walk in and order at the counter. If you’re commuting, you can pre-order and pre-pay through the link on the shop’s Instagram, then grab your drink at the drive-thru window. The window is for pre-orders only.

The menu is the fun part. Rachael Raquino told Aloha State Daily that the specialty drinks ($8.50 each) are named for landmarks and “things that signify Wahiawā.” The Leilehua is an iced banana latte with banana bread cold foam. Exit 8 is a chocolate haupia drink. Da Raq special is a Chantilly latte, and the Keno is an iced caramel cookie butter latte with caramel cold foam. If you just want coffee, hot drip is $3.50 and iced lattes are $4.80. The coffee comes from Haleʻiwa Coffee Roasters, and Raquino said most of the syrups and all of the cold foams are made in-house.

The name came out of a couple of family dinners and a final family vote. She told the paper she’s excited to serve the community, pointing to the new state offices in town and everyone driving through Wahiawā to the North Shore. The drive-thru is meant to make a coffee run on the way to work quick.

Make it a Wahiawā coffee morning

If you’re already in Wahiawā, Hideaway Coffeeshop at 177 S. Kamehameha Highway makes a good second stop. According to Aloha State Daily, the café is tucked away behind a tattoo shop, and owner Steph Maldonado describes it as “speakeasy-like.” It opened in May. The paper reported that it makes its own syrups, and banana bread is the most popular flavor. It listed hours as 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Hours at new shops change often, so check each one’s Instagram before you go.

Sources

• Hawaii News Now, “What’s Cooking: The Matcha Social expands from food truck to Pearlridge shop” by Annalisa Burgos and HNN Staff (Oct. 31, 2026): https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2026/10/31/whats-cooking-new-matcha-cafe-with-pink-boba-opening-pearlridge-center/
• Aloha State Daily, “Wahiawā Brewed is a new coffee shop with a drive-thru” by Kelli Shiroma Braiotta (Oct. 14, 2026): https://alohastatedaily.com/2026/10/14/wahiawa-brewed-is-a-new-coffee-shop-with-a-drive-thru/
• Aloha State Daily, “This Wahiawā coffee shop is tucked away behind a tattoo shop” (July 8, 2026): https://alohastatedaily.com/2026/07/08/this-wahiawa-coffee-shop-is-tucked-away-behind-a-tattoo-shop/