With the official opening of 88 Kava Bar & Refreshments over the weekend, the Sugar City now provides an alternative location for kava drinkers especially for working-class customers after hours.
“The response has been great so far and I believe this is one of a kind place in Lautoka where you can come and relax from a hard day’s work,” said owner Chanal Mark.
He said after working in the retail sector for 12 years, he decided to open a kava bar that was more of a lounge which was clean and ventilated for customers.
The kava bar sits on the top- floor of the Vinson Plaza which is just meters away from the Lautoka Bus stand.
“We have kava bars in Suva and in Nadi but for the people of Lautoka, this is something new for them.
“Lots of people catch up over a basin of kava and as we all know, kava brings out a relaxing and mellow-mood atmosphere.”
Mr Mark said the majority of his kava was coming from Western Samoa.
“Fijians have tasted yaqona from Savusavu, Kadavu, Taveuni, Vanuatu, however, I haven’t heard people mentioning anything about the kava from Samoa.
“So far, people are liking the taste and if it goes well in the market, then we’ll stick to it and if not, we will explore other options in order to provide the best kava mix for our customers.”
He said the idea to open a kava bar popped up when he realised it was difficult to find a comfy place to drink kava and hang out at night over a basin of kava.
“I have invested around $18,000 in the opening of this kava bar and this is currently being managed by my wife and myself plus we have also employed one staff.
“As we move towards the weekend, it gets more busy, on Saturday we closed at 4am in the morning, however, we are open as early as 10am because we also provide breakfast menu, fast-food and coffee as well.”
