Page 5 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - Oct 13, 2021

“I remember thinking, ‘Why would I want another kimchi company since I was losing money at Parks?’” Irish remembers.
locations: Kalihi, Fisherman’s Wharf and Wai‘alae Avenue,” says Irish, who would visit each facility at least once a day. “It made the day really long for me, but in those days traffic wasn’t as bad.”
adjusting salt or sugar where needed, and why each batch is made by hand by dedicated workers — the same way it’s been done for decades.
Despite his initial hesi- tancy, Irish decided to take whatever capital he had and purchase Halm’s. The trans- action paid off three months later when he was able to in- corporate Parks into Halm’s and move operations from Kalihi to Wai‘alae.
What followed were the addition of local kimchi fa- vorites like A-1 and Kohala, as well as Diamond Head Seafood Wholesale in the early 1990s (formerly Suisan in Honolulu) and Keoki’s (makers of kalua pig and lau lau) in 1995.
The last kimchi company Halm’s Enterprises acquired was in 2019, and it brought Irish’s journey full circle.
“We’re just a small bunch of local people trying to make good local food for oth- er local people,” Irish says. “I’ m so appreciative to work with the people that I work with to produce what we do for Hawai‘i and give back as much as we can.”
“At one time, I had three
Irish’s goal has always been to keep the flavors of Hawai‘i in the islands and to honor the brands that lo- cals have grown to love and tastes that “bring you back to yesteryear,” to hear him tell it. It’s why all the same branding and packaging are in place, and Irish makes sure he sticks to the origi- nal recipes. So, if something doesn’t taste right, he has one request: “Please call me,” he says.
“Right before the pan- demic, we bought Joe Kim’s Kimchee,” Irish says. “Here we were 35 years ago talking, and now we’ re together.”
OCTOBER 13, 2021
HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK 5
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All Hail The Kimchi King
FROM PAGE 4
who owned one of the state’s most popular brands of kim- chi sauce. Whether or not it would be profitable was an- other story.
“That just started to be- come our business model,” he says. “Instead of devel- oping more product lines, we ended up acquiring more companies.
“All my calculations were wrong,” Irish remembers. “I was losing money.”
“A lot of these mom-and- pop shops, the parents start- ed it to put their kids through Punahou or ‘Iolani, but the last thing these kids want to do is come back and label bottles for the rest of their lives. They’re lawyers now or bankers or doctors. So, when the parents want to retire and sell, that’s where we come into play.”
To bolster his business, Irish approached Joe Kim of Joe Kim’s Kimchee to forge a partnership. Instead, Kim suggested Irish buy Halm’s Korean brand.
President Mike Yonemura and CEO Mike Irish showcase their companies’ goods.
The “King of Kimchi” relaxes at home with wife Sandy.
PHOTO COURTESY MIKE IRISH
Over the years, Irish, who’s been enjoying life as a wine and whiskey hobbyist these days, has picked up quite a bit of knowledge about the nuances of kimchi-making. He notes that vegetable fla- vors change throughout the year: sweeter and more wa- tery in the winter, and harder and drier in the summer. It’s why he walks the floor of his operation at least twice a week doing taste tests and