Uncle Robert’s Awa Bar and Farmers Market

At the Kalapana end of Red Road, Uncle Robert’s is a family-run open-air bar and market complex built around a timber-roofed pavilion. Wednesday evenings are its signature gathering, with Hawaiian music, food and dancing. Go for a local food-and-music night, not a guaranteed produce-shopping trip; the vendor mix can be small.

The complex has a local-style kitchen, smoothie stand, prepared-food vendors and a small provisions store. The kitchen serves Hawaiian comfort food, and the smoothie stand uses local fruit, though the menu and vendor mix vary. The awa bar serves awa, or kava, a traditional Polynesian root drink commonly poured into coconut-shell halves. Bring a little cash as backup; payment options can differ between the venue and individual vendors.

The family scaled back its large vendor setup during the pandemic. The present-day gathering is smaller than the sprawling produce market the name may bring to mind, with music, food and dancing at its center. If you mainly want to shop for produce, this may not be the stop you expect; don’t plan around a particular vendor.

The bar and gathering honor Robert Keliʻihoʻomalu, a patriarch of old Kalapana; his children now run the complex. At the entrance, look for a six-foot circular tile mural of the Royal Crest of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. Samuel (“Uncle Sam”) Keliʻihoʻomalu commissioned it, and local artist Rika Blue spent years making nearly 100 hand-painted pieces. The mural and the music connect the food stop to the family and community story behind its name.