Dean & Deluca at Royal Hawaiian Center
Dean & DeLuca has long been a haven for New York City foodies, a warm and inviting gourmet grocery that smells like bread, where specialty meats and cheeses are available by the pound, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables, pastries, wine, gifts and candies.
This new location isn’t as sprawling as its East Coast counterparts (this is the chain’s 11th location), but the layout and selection is derived from the usual Dean & DeLuca model, truncated for Waikīkī: chilled assorted soft drinks and beers along the wall, large deli cases offering a mix of cold and hot entrees, as well as desserts and baked goods, and branded snacks, candies and merchandise—including the very popular tote bags ($29)—stacked high on commercial kitchen racks. There’s also a companion table offering local goods, such as those produced by Kāhala Fresh, Maui Fruit Jewels and Island Essence.