Tip Top Motel, Cafe & Bakery
A popular stop for the residents of Kauaʻi and visitors in the town of Līhuʻe, just minutes from the airport. Tip Top has been serving customers for over one hundred years. Back in November of 1916, the Līhuʻe store manager approached a cook for the Plantation Manager, Denjiro Ota, to open a café serving breakfast and coffee to the community in Līhuʻe. Once he established the café, he added a bakery for homemade bread available for island-wide delivery.
Nine years later, his son, Mitchell, took over the business. His decided to introduce pastries, and other baked goods which became a mainstay of the business. Tip Top continues to use his pancake recipe in the restaurant. Another notable addition was the macadamia nut cookie which was the first made in Hawaiʻi.
In 1965, Mitchell moved the café half a mile to its current location today. His vision was to grow the business to include a 34-room motel with a bar. With its hometown hospitality, convenient location and delicious food, Tip Top thrived in the area.
Today, Jonathan who is a fourth-generation Ota runs the business. He took it over in 1989, when he was 30 years old and continues to run the business, his great-grandfather started.