Istanbul Hawai‘i

Founded by mother and daughter duo Ahu and Nili Hettema in 2020, Istanbul Hawaii is one of the only Turkish & Mediterranean restaurants in the State of Hawaiʻi that effortlessly combines traditional flavors and heritages together. After more than 10 years living in the U.S. away from family, Ahu was longing to return to Turkey, but immigration issues got in the way. Years of fighting for her rights to fulfill a life in the states that she had always dreamed of, Ahu began to face personal challenges, post traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and homesickness. Ahu turned to her mother for guidance, where Nili then came to live with Ahu on Oʻahu and with her she brought Turkish ingredients and spices that Ahu couldn’t access for years due to the inability to travel back to Turkey. The mother-daughter bond brought Istanbul Hawaii to life, the more Ahu and her mother cooked together, the more Ahu healed. In 2015, the Hettema’s started selling food at the farmers markets of their adopted island home, Oʻahu. Immersed in the fresh ingredients of Hawaiʻi, they experimented with blending traditional Ottoman dishes with the flavors of the islands, creating a unique blend of cultures. For the mother-daughter duo now, Istanbul Hawaii is a way of bringing their home country to Hawaiʻi, connecting two places on opposite ends of the world through flavors, culinary traditions, and local and exotic ingredients.