The movie projector the Aloha Theatre used for silent films in the 1930s still stands near the front doors in Kealakekua. It hasn't worked in decades. In an October 2025 Aloha State Daily feature, managing director Chelsea Ahern said it had "recently been repurposed" because "a chicken decided it was the perfect place to lay her eggs."
Today the building around it holds a working community stage at 79-7384 Hawaii Belt Road. On the other side of its wall is a chef-driven restaurant, and a few address numbers down the highway is a chocolate café with a cocktail bar. From the opening of The Rocky Horror Show on Friday, October 23 through a New Year supper club on December 28, their calendars overlap enough that for anyone living below them on the Hokuli'a side of the coast, the season works like one venue spread over three doors.
A Movie House Built for Weekend Nights
The Tanimoto family built the Aloha Theatre in 1932 as a movie house for South Kona. Ahern told Aloha State Daily it was "a film theater for the migrant workers in the area, just so they had somewhere to come and let loose on the weekends." Live theater started in 1939, when the Kona Lions Club staged Who Wouldn't Be Crazy?
The resident company since 1987 has been the Aloha Performing Arts Company, a nonprofit whose mission includes live theater and arts education. The company also uses an open audition policy, which artistic director Sarah Athens explained to Aloha State Daily:
"We're not a professional theater. We open auditions to everyone, no matter your skill level. Anyone can be an actor. Anyone can be an artist. All you have to do is want it."
In the same piece she said, "There's something magical about coming to the theater and seeing your dentist on stage." That's the right expectation for this fall. The Rocky Horror Show runs October 23 through November 1, and Nunsense runs November 20 through December 6. Both are productions by local people on a stage that has hosted community theater for close to ninety years.
The building needs constant care. Ahern told Aloha State Daily that "there's always something that needs to be fixed," and she called the current period one of revitalizing: "The community has kept it alive for decades, and now it's time to grow even more."
The Restaurant on the Other Side of the Wall
The second door has the same street address. The Theatery calls itself "The Theater Eatery" and lists 79-7384 Hawaii Belt Rd, Kealakekua as its location. Aloha State Daily reports that it shares a wall with the theater, and the restaurant's general manager, Traci Wilkey, has her own stories about the building's spirits.
The menu is New American food cooked in a French style, built mostly on Hawaiian ingredients. Chef Stewart Woodman runs the kitchen. Some practical details matter on theater nights:
- Kitchen hours: the kitchen closes once the last reservation orders, and that can be as early as 7:45 p.m. On a 7:30 p.m. curtain night, eat before the show. Reservations are recommended but not required.
- Happy hour: 4 to 6 p.m. and again from 8 p.m. to close, in the bar and lounge.
- Wine: you can bring your own unopened bottle for a $35 corkage fee per bottle. There is no dress code.
The Theatery's calendar lines up most closely with the theater's in its Monday supper clubs. The restaurant lists them as five-course dinners from 5:30 to 8 p.m., limited to 36 guests, at $95 early-bird online or $125 at the door. Four are scheduled for the rest of the year:
| Date | Supper club theme |
|---|---|
| Monday, October 26 | Fall Recipes |
| Monday, November 9 | Kona Coffee Festival Themed Fare |
| Monday, December 7 | Festive Holiday |
| Monday, December 28 | New Year, Modern Food |
The festival's own schedule gives the November 9 dinner a later finish, at 8:30 p.m. The October 26 dinner falls in the middle of the Rocky Horror run, and the December 7 dinner comes the night after Nunsense closes.
Chocolate at 79-7378
The third door is Hale Cocoa at 79-7378 Mamalahoa Highway. It's the café, chocolate shop and cocktail bar of Puna Chocolate Company, serving Hawaiian-grown coffee, espresso and cocoa drinks, and house-made pastries. Adam Potter and Ben Vanegtern started Puna Chocolate Company in 2012 to make chocolate from Hawaii-grown cacao. The company also runs the farm next door and the restaurant. Puna Chocolate's cacao farm tours have started from behind Hale Cocoa since July 1, 2025.
Because the same people run both spots, an evening that starts with an espresso drink at Hale Cocoa and ends with a five-course dinner next to the theater stays with one group of operators.
Where the Coffee Festival Lands in South Kona
The Kona Coffee Cultural Festival is usually linked with Kailua Village. In the week of November 9, though, the festival's 2026 schedule puts several evenings on this block, and a farm tour runs a short drive south in Captain Cook:
- Monday, November 9, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.: the 5 Course Coffee-Flavored Supper Club at The Theatery.
- Tuesday, November 10, daytime: the Kona Historical Society's Kona Coffee Living History Farm Tour in Captain Cook, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It also runs November 6 and 13.
- Tuesday, November 10, evening: Old Time Kona Stories, Volume 1 at the Aloha Theatre. Doors open at 5:30 and the program starts at 6. The theater lists tickets at $10 to $15.
- Wednesday, November 11, 5 to 7 p.m.: the Kona Espresso Martini & Coffee Cocktail Competition at Hale Cocoa.
- Saturday, November 14, 6 to 9 p.m.: the festival's Grand Finale at The Theatery.
On November 10 you can take the farm tour in Captain Cook during the day and hear Kona's older coffee stories at the theater that evening.
The Season, Date by Date
The theater's own calendar fills in the rest. Its ticketing page lists the following. Showtimes and prices are as posted, and since availability changes, check before you plan a night around a show.
| Date | Event | Time | Listed price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 23–24, Oct 29–31 | The Rocky Horror Show | 7:30 p.m. | $40 |
| Sunday, Nov 1 | The Rocky Horror Show matinee | 2:30 p.m. | $40 |
| Friday, Nov 6 | Santana Tribute: Larry Dupio | 7:00 p.m. | $30–$50 |
| Saturday, Nov 7 | Friday Flicks: The Nightmare Before Christmas | 7:00 p.m. | |
| Tuesday, Nov 10 | Old Time Kona Stories, Volume 1 | 6:00 p.m. | $10–$15 |
| Friday, Nov 13 | Friday Flicks: Edward Scissorhands | 7:00 p.m. | |
| Nov 20–Dec 6 | Nunsense | See listing | |
| Wednesday, Dec 9 | A Christmas Story | 7:00 p.m. | |
| Thursday, Dec 10 | White Christmas | 7:00 p.m. | |
| Friday, Dec 11 | Krampus | 8:00 p.m. | |
| Sunday, Dec 13 | Kona Aloha Singers, "Holiday In The City" | See listing |
The film nights and the December 7 holiday supper club bracket the second week of December. The supper club comes on Monday, the films run Wednesday through Friday, and the Kona Aloha Singers perform that Sunday.
Two Things to Check Before Opening Weekend
Opening night falls on Friday, October 23, which is also the last scheduled day of the Hawaii Department of Transportation's Route 11 roadwork. The department has listed possible single-lane closures on Mamalahoa Highway between mileposts 109 and 119, Captain Cook to Holualoa, from October 19 to 23 for striping and pavement-marker work, and it notes the schedule depends on weather.
Halloween night brings two events. Rocky Horror has a 7:30 p.m. performance on Saturday, October 31, and Keauhou Shopping Center is holding its free Candy Crawl the same day. The center's listing gives conflicting hours, so check its events page before you plan both.
From Kailua-Kona, Frank and Nicolaas Schenk follow the small places that shape everyday life up and down this coast, and the Aloha Theatre block is one of the most loved. If you'd like to talk about Hokuli'a, South Kona or the communities around them, Schenk Properties would be glad to hear from you.
