Big Island Poké Brings Authentic Hawaiian to St. Paul
Before opening Big Island Poké, located at 74 Snelling Ave. S, owners Jenii Phu and Hailey Erickson worked in another poké shop together for a few years. But something wasn’t clicking with the store.
“So we decided to do something on our own,” Phu said.
Their vision was to have a more traditional poké experience in the Twin Cities, while offering healthy, quick dining options.
Poké (pronounced poh-kay) originated in Hawaii in the 1960s. Traditionally it is a rice bowl base with sushi grade raw seafood for protein and lots of veggies.
“It’s a good lunch. It’s good dinner. It’s even a good breakfast sometimes,” Phu said. “You know, rice and veggies and protein like that’s a very versatile meal.”
While they do serve traditional Hawaiian versions, Erickson said that, because of the versatility of the dish, there are lots of options available.
“We’ve got the traditional raw fish that you’d expect with poké, but then we’ve also got cooked options because we have a lot of people that are comfortable with that.” Erickson said. “Or for vegans who come in, tofu is an option.”
Ultimately, Erickson said that their philosophy is to make sure people are finding what they like and having a good experience in their shop.
“Let’s say you go through the line and you don’t want any veggies on your bowl, obviously, we’ll give out more rice,” she said. “We’ll try to make sure that extra toppings account for it because you’re paying a premium price for a premium product.”
“I think everybody can find something that they like,” Erickson added. “There’s tons of customization, so we’re very eager to make whatever bowl you can think of, whatever you imagine.”
Given that the shop specializes in fresh produce and raw fish, Phu and Erickson said one of the things that set them apart is the freshness of their product – saying they receive daily deliveries of produce and protein.
“Everything comes in daily,” Phu said. “It’s nice and fresh.”
In addition to suggested and make-your-own bowls, Big Island Poke offers a number of sides and, in partnership with Mochinut, mochi donuts (a slightly chewy mix of traditional American donuts and mochi) Korean Hot Dogs (uniquely battered hot dogs on a stick) and bubble tea.
“The reason why we chose this location is because we were thinking, with the college students and with the demographics, maybe people would like more healthy food,” said Phu. “Of course, when you have college students, you want sweets. So, we decided to add some unhealthy food too.”
Phu said the donuts are made daily in-shop, sometimes twice a day. While the donuts are fresh when you buy them, Phu said they can be enjoyed for longer than your typical pastries.
“One really nice thing about them is that they hold for much longer than a typical donut,” Phu said. “ Those go stale in a matter of hours, these are fine, even for a few days.”
While Phu and Erickson, as new small business owners, experienced some growing pains when they first opened, they said things are starting to settle down, they are finding their groove and loving their location and what they do.
And most importantly, they are enjoying what their customers bring to the shop.
““What I love to see the most is some awesome date when I work,” Phu said. “I do see older couples that actually will come in and spend time and then they actually try out our menu. That’s like the best thing. That’s great. That’s like the sweetest thing. And then they will talk to themselves and they talk to us. It’s wonderful.”
If you go:
Big Island Poké
74 Snelling Ave S
Open daily 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
