Opened in the fall of 2021, Living Foods was founded with the goal of providing everyday healthy food options to the Kauai community, alongside upscale groceries in a fun, casual café and restaurant environment. At Living Foods, Ohana means bringing guests together around socially conscious products and high-quality ingredients sourced directly from local farmers, ranchers, and artisans.
Living Foods features a vibrant selection of ready-made to-go items, as well as curated essentials for weekly grocery needs. Our onsite café, open daily, features coffee and fresh baked goods, while our all-day restaurant offers such signature dishes as Chilaquiles, Bibimbap, Provisions Salads, and Smash Burgers.
Designed to serve both travelers and Kama’aina, Living Foods is a community where guests can reliably source quality products to feed themselves and their families. Whether building relationships with local producers or everyday guests, we are always celebrating the craft of Aloha. We care deeply about the island of Kauai, its people, its culture and its longevity.
Supporting Living Foods helps us protect the community, the ‘aina and our unique way of life.
Meet the Team
Mark Arriola, Executive Chef
Originally from Corpus Christi, Texas, Chef Mark began his hospitality career shucking oysters at Frenchy’s Crab House on the Gulf of Mexico. After graduating from Colorado Mountain Culinary Institute in 2000, Mark worked at the Keystone Ranch (then rated by Zagat as the top restaurant in Colorado). From there, he relocated to Maui to work with Peter Merriman at Merriman’s Bamboo Bistro. In 2003, Mark was given the opportunity to open SOGO Market Café in San Antonio Texas, a small gourmet market featuring scratch-made dishes and local ingredients. Eight years later, he returned to Hawaii to helm Merriman’s Fish House in Kauai, with a focus on developing relationships with local ranchers, fishermen and farmers. In joining the Living Foods team, Chef Mark draws on these relationships and experience with local sourcing, building a cafe, restaurant and grocery concept that reflects the unique flavors of Hawaii.
Nicole Freeland, President & Managing Partner
After growing up in Austin, Texas, Nicole began her hospitality career in New Orleans after pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies at Tulane University. Shortly after graduation, Nicole visited Hawaii in pursuit of her first half marathon. Her passions for both running and the island persisted, and she relocated permanently to Kauai in 2011. Initially hired as a bartender at the acclaimed Beach House restaurant in Koloa, Nicole earned her Level 2 certification from the Court of Sommeliers and eventually became the property’s General Manager. After a decade on the island, joining the opening team for Living Foods is an opportunity for Nicole to share her passion for fitness and healthy living, as well as her knowledge of Kauai’s unique food culture.
Matthew Duncan, General Manager
Born in California and raised in Rhode Island, Matthew began his hospitality career after graduating from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. It was there that he discovered a passion for wine, first working as a cellar hand at L'Ecole N° 41, a third-generation winery in the Walla Walla Valley. A few years later, Matthew relocated to New Zealand to work at Oyster Bay Winery, an internationally celebrated producer of Sauvignon Blanc. Then, in 2015, Duncan moved to Kauai when his wife, Lauren, was offered a job in public health. In his first year as a server at Beach House restaurant in Koloa, he was promoted to Beverage Director and, shortly thereafter, was awarded his Level 1 certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers. At Living Foods, he looks forward to sharing his globally-informed hospitality experience and passion for fine food and beverage with Kauai locals and travelers alike.
