It’s warm and humid on this Sunday afternoon. The sky is overcast, threatening rain. All in all, it seems like a good day for a cool treat.
Others seemingly had the same thought as a short line snakes out the door at Asato Family Shop on Pali Highway in Downtown Honolulu.
The name is written in gold above the door and in the tiles once you step inside. Orange palaka print curtains hang in the window. A menu is taped to the door. Available today are pints of sherbet in some classic Hawai‘i flavors: strawberry, pineapple and Green River. There’s also Lihing float; pickled mango juice; passion orange guava, and others. Some flavors have already sold out.
April 12 was the last day the Pali Highway shop will open on Sundays for retail sales. Owner Neale Asato says the business will instead focus on scaling its wholesale operations in the coming months.
He stands outside of the small shop as he talks to Aloha State Daily but pauses to greet friends and customers as they walk up, some offering hugs and handshakes.
Asato was recently named a nominee for the 2026 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards in the outstanding pastry chef or baker category.
The nominees, who were announced at the end of March, “embody exceptional talent and leadership within the independent restaurant industry,” the James Beard Foundation noted. Winners will be revealed during an awards ceremony in Chicago this June.
Although several Hawai‘i restauranteurs and chefs were named as semifinalists for the awards earlier this year, Asato is the only one from Hawai‘i to advance.
It’s an honor to be recognized by the James Beard Foundation, Asato says but he’s quick to add that his family helped build the whole business. His wife, children and parents all help out, as have his siblings.
“I think it’s great for Hawai‘i to be recognized for what we’re trying to do,” Asato told ASD.
Known for its sherbet made in locally inspired flavors, Asato’s has been at it’s Pali Highway location for a little more than seven years, but the company itself started about a year and a half before that.
Asato’s Waikīkī opened in Kings & Queen’s at Hyatt Regency Waikīkī Beach Resort & Spa late last year.
“Our mission with Asato Family Shop is to carry on the history of Hawai‘i, the food and culture,” its website says. “We want to create a company that will be here for the next generation by not only making quality treats, but supporting the community that supports us.”
Food service runs in the family.
Asato says his mom’s family owned a number of eateries and before he was born, his parents had a restaurant.
“We all kind of grew up helping at the family restaurant,” he says. “I always wanted to open something in the food industry, food business.”
Asato later worked at other restaurants professionally, including a stint at Vintage Cave. He worked there for a year, “then worked some other restaurants” but decided he didn’t want to focus on cooking.
“I settled on making sherbet at home and then selling it to friends and family.”
Sherbet, he says, was nostalgic. His family lived on Maui when he was in preschool and would visit Tasaka Guri-Guri.
This is Asato’s first James Beard nomination.
“I had no idea I could even get nominated,” he says. “So that was a surprise. … I would never call myself a pastry [chef] or a baker. Even my chef friends, I don’t think anyone would call me a pastry chef or a baker.”
When the finalists were announced at the end of March, Asato found out through a friend.
“My friend texted me early in the morning,” Asato says. “I didn’t know. I didn’t check the list. I kind of forgot it was that day.”
He’s still shocked to be the only finalist from the Islands. There’s “so much good local talent,” Asato says.
When asked about the business’ role in the island’s overall dining ecosystem, Asato says this:
“We’re just trying to preserve the flavors of our childhood growing up in Hawai‘i, from crack seed store, … all the desserts from family potlucks,” he says. “We’re just trying to keep those flavors alive and share it with the next generation. That’s our goal — make people happy and bring back good memories. That’s what we try to do.”
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Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
