Waialua Coffee parent files for bankruptcy
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
The parent company of Waialua Coffee Co., which tried to grow gourmet coffee beans on 180 acres of Dole Food Co. Hawaii land on O'ahu's North Shore, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Waialua Farms LLC took over Dole's struggling coffee-growing operation in the fall but after one season left the fields overgrown with weeds.
In its bankruptcy filing last week, Waialua Farms estimated its debts at $100,000 to $500,000 and assets at up to $50,000. Waialua Farms also listed one to 15 creditors, including Dole.
Alfred Coscina, who is listed as the company president, and board member Loren C. Divers declined comment yesterday on the bankruptcy filing. Jerrold K. Guben, attorney in the case, did not return telephone calls yesterday seeking comment.
Dole had tried to grow gourmet coffee beans on the North Shore site as part of ongoing efforts to diversify its land holdings following the demise of the Waialua sugar plantation in 1996.
But the high cost of hand-picking beans, combined with a glut on the coffee market, "meant it wasn't economical for us," John Hirota, Dole's former property manager, said yesterday.
"It was good coffee," he said. "But it was very expensive and when we tried to sell it, we just couldn't recover our costs."
Last year, Waialua Farms agreed to lease the land from Dole with an arrangement to purchase the equipment and coffee inventory, said Jerry Vriesenga, who retired as Dole president in December.
Waialua Farms inherited mature, bean-bearing coffee trees that were 3 to 6 years old, Hirota said.
The growing and harvest season runs from September through February and for the first few weeks of Waialua's first season a few workers tried to hand-pick the beans, Hirota said.
Over the course of the next few months, a dozen or so workers picked beans on a piece-work basis, Hirota said.
"Same beans, same problems," Hirota said. "Everybody from Kaua'i to Moloka'i has ended up with huge inventory. Coffee is slow."
Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.
