They tout the business as Durham’s first non-alcoholic kava bar.Īs I nurse my Haleakala Sunrise-a mocktail containing kava extract, coconut milk, and lots of tropical fruit juices-I start chatting with Ria Garcia, a fellow customer who paused work on her intricate, psychedelic pen drawing to bid me hello. In efforts to honor Polynesian culture and avoid coming across as a tacky tiki bar, the pair decorated Da Kine’s with personal totems from their travels, like certificates Waffle received while studying the ancient Hawaiian martial art of Lua, a picture of a beach where Best liked to hang out after work, and a wooden ax lined with shark teeth. Waffle says he and Best designed Da Kine’s to emulate the bright, open, and inviting vibe of the bars they frequented in the Pacific Islands. “Community is very important here, and everybody is willing to try new things.” “Durham reminds me a lot of Hawaii,” Waffle says. Upon moving back, the duo thought Durham residents would take well to the laidback culture linked to the drink.
It’s a rainy Friday afternoon in June, and no, I’m not smoking DMT in a dingy basement rather, I’m perched on a stool in Da Kine’s, a cheerful, cerulean-walled kava bar on West Chapel Hill Street that opened last summer in the space formerly occupied by coffee shop Joe Van Gogh.ĭa Kine’s is owned by Bull City native and Duke graduate Zoey Best and her husband Brent Waffle, who fell in love with kava while living in Hawaii (Best lived in Hawaii in 2013, and Waffle lived there from 2007-2012). I can’t feel my throat, the woman beside me just claimed to be 400 years old, and I have no idea how long I’ve been sitting here, but somehow, I’ve never felt more at peace. Classic Kava at Da Kine’s Kava Bar | Photo by Brett Villenaĭa Kine's Kava | 1114 W Chapel Hill St, Durham
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