Kauai Coffee Extends Layoff Warnings as Lease Standoff Continues

The largest coffee producer in the United States is operating on borrowed time.

On March 6, Kauai Coffee Company informed its 140 employees that layoff warning notices would be extended for another month, pushing the threat of closure further into the spring while negotiations with the company’s new landlord remain stalled.

The farm’s lease expired on March 28, but the operation continues — for now. General Manager Brian Kubicki confirmed that monthly WARN notice extensions will continue “as conversations continue beyond the current lease’s end date.”

Four Million Trees in Limbo

Kauai Coffee spans over 3,000 acres on the southwestern slopes of Kauai, where more than four million coffee trees produce between one and two million pounds of green coffee annually. That makes it the single largest coffee operation in the United States by volume, dwarfing even the famous Kona region on the Big Island.

The current crisis traces back to 2022, when Alexander & Baldwin sold more than 18,000 acres of land — including the coffee farm — to Colorado-based investment firm Brue Baukol Capital Partners for $74 million. Negotiations for a new lease began nearly two years ago but have failed to produce an agreement.

Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA, which owns Kauai Coffee (along with brands like Chock full o’Nuts and Hills Bros.), has sought a transition period of “two years or more” and an asset purchase agreement that would protect its equipment and infrastructure. Brue Baukol has expressed interest in maintaining coffee production on the land, but the two sides remain far apart on terms.

The Workers Waiting

For the 141 employees who received initial WARN Act notices in January, the monthly extensions bring a strange kind of uncertainty. They’re still employed. The farm and its visitor center coffee shop in Kalaheo remain open. But no one knows for how long.

Massimo Zanetti has not provided clarity on severance packages or what happens to staff if the operation closes permanently. Senior advisor Wayne Katayama said in January that the company is “still actively working on finding a resolution.”

A Domestic Coffee Rarity

Hawaii is the only U.S. state that produces coffee commercially, and Kauai Coffee represents the largest single operation. The farm’s production dwarfs domestic competitors, and its closure would represent a significant blow to American-grown specialty coffee.

Kauai Coffee’s beans — grown at relatively low elevations of around 500 feet but benefiting from the island’s volcanic soil and consistent rainfall — have historically occupied the accessible end of the Hawaiian coffee spectrum. Less expensive than Kona, more plentiful, and widely distributed through grocery chains and the company’s online shop.

But accessibility isn’t the same as dispensability. If the operation shuts down, there’s no clear path to restart it. Four million trees don’t simply find new homes.

Why This Matters

The standoff between a beverage conglomerate and an investment firm might seem like routine corporate negotiation, but the stakes extend beyond balance sheets. Kauai Coffee isn’t just a business — it’s an agricultural operation with more than three decades of history, a tourism draw that welcomes over 100,000 visitors annually, and the employer of more than a hundred workers on an island with limited job options.

The monthly extensions mean the farm survives another thirty days. The trees keep growing. The workers keep working. But until Massimo Zanetti and Brue Baukol reach an agreement, America’s largest coffee producer remains one failed negotiation away from disappearing.