New businesses offerings include savory pies, sushi and snacks
BY MAUREEN N. MARATITA, OYAOL NGIRAIRIKL, AND SKYLER OBISPO Journal Staff
As 2024 turns to 2025, several businesses opened to welcome in the new year bringing new and exciting offerings across Guam and Palau.
Andrew and Patty Mendiola Ellison have taken their experience in the food and beverage industry to launch a new venue in the Star Building in Tamuning.
The Coffee Club opened in December with a unique business plan. During the day customers can expect coffee and a variety of savory pies. In the evening, the venue will offer alcoholic beverages for post-work groups looking for a handy place to gather.
(From left) Andrew Ellison, Patty Ellison, Derick Llona, Ayden Yatar, Dani Warner and Rosie Canunan Savory goods are baked in-house at the Coffee Club. Photos by Maureen N. Maratita Andrew Ellison told the Journal, “I’ve been traveling for many years all over the world.” When he and his wife arrive at a destination, he said, “The first thing we look for is good coffee and good wine.”
The Coffee Club opened as soon as it could, driven by a number of enquiries by customers eager to try the pies. The Ellisons held a soft opening attended by family members and blessed by Father Rome “Romy” Duetao Convocar, who will serve as bishop of the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa on Saipan.
While they expect tourists will find the Coffee Club, Patty Ellison said, “It’s for the locals and local expats.”
While good coffee in Guam is always a draw, she said, “Our specialty cuisine is really the pies.” These include sausage rolls and bacon and egg pies and other savory pies, which range in price from $5.75 to $7.95.
Batches of to-go orders are already proving popular, she said. A steak and mushroom pie will be among upcoming menu offerings. The savory goods are baked on the premises.
Beverages include a variety of coffees and signature coffees, frappes, smoothies and floats, teas and Kids Club drinks, and range from $3.
As to the alcohol currently on sale, Patty Ellison said, “It’s just for wine and beer, not for hard liquor,” although an alcohol license has been applied for, she said. “I really want to offer Bailey’s [Irish Cream] with coffee and with ice cream.” The Coffee Club will also offer non-alcoholic beer.
Andrew Ellison, who is a longtime contractor, did the installation himself at a cost of $200,000.
The pair have been in business in Guam since 1998, and in Saipan since 1997, Patty Ellison said. Born and raised in Rota, Patty Ellison is a business partner in the Oasis Café and Clippers Lounge at the A.B. Won Pat International Airport Guam.
The Ellisons also owned Island Shaved Ice in Garapan. “It was a great location – right across Duty Free,” Patty Ellison said.
Andrew Ellison is originally from New Zealand, where savory pies are popular. Pies are equally popular in Australia. Annually, some 270 million meat pies are consumed in Australia and 66 million in New Zealand, according to Food Standards Australia New Zealand.
Palauans and visitors are enjoying Sakura Restaurant - Sushi & Hotpot, a floating restaurant docked at Malakal Port in Koror. Operated by Palau Coral Club Co. Ltd., the restaurant held a soft opening on Christmas Day, with a grand opening scheduled for Jan. 8.
“Palau has an affinity for Japan due to its historical background. Palau currently has very few places that serve authentic Japanese food, and we thought that Palau people, who have few leisure activities, would appreciate our attempt to serve sushi and sukiyaki on a restaurant ship,” said Akira Maruyama, head of the company’s Sushi Restaurant Business division.
Maruyama said the investment represents a believe that tourism, which experienced a sharp drop due to the COVID pandemic, will return. Additionally, the investment in the restaurant is hoping to do well in Palau and has added nearly 40 new jobs with two managers and 36 staff.
The Sakura Restaurant – Sushi & Hotpot – Palau is docked at Malakal port in Koror. Photos courtesy of Sakura Restaurant Sakura features a team of experienced chefs, a Japanese head chef and six sushi chefs under him, each with more than 10 years of experience, Maruyama said. They prepare a delectable variety of Japanese cuisine, including sushi platters and hotpots that highlight fresh local fish, clams, and other specially imported seafood.
Menu prices at Sakura Sushi are reasonable, starting at $5 for seared sushi made with tuna, yellowfin, or other seafood. Seared scallops and plates of shrimp or salmon nigiri are priced at $7, while a special set of oshi sushi, which includes salmon, shrimp, anago, and mackerel, costs $10. More elaborate nigiri sets range from the Ume at $18 — featuring lean tuna, the fish of the day, salmon, sweet shrimp, octopus, squid, mussels, tobiko, Japanese omelet, eel, and flounder fin—to the Matsu at $35, which includes fatty tuna, the special of the day, scallop, salmon belly, yellowtail, whole anago, horse mackerel, flounder fin, red shrimp, salmon roe, sea urchin, and ark shell.
As the name suggests, the restaurant also offers hotpots on the second floor in Sakura Tei. Here, guests can enjoy choice cuts of meat and fish cooked in a rich broth that teases the umami taste buds.
The restaurant also has a variety of desserts from ice creams to cakes. Staff recently announced they are able to host the perfect birthday party and other celebrations.
Sakura is part of a larger project announced in February 2023. IHG Hotels & Resorts signed a management agreement with Palau Coral Club to open the 200-room Hotel Indigo Palau on Malakal Island. The largest shareholder is Mr. Takao Yasuda, founder of Pan Pacific International Holdings Ltd., which also owns Donki Village in Guam. The hotel will overlook a coral reef and provide an immaculate view of the bay with immediate access to world-class diving and marine life.
It's unclear at the moment if the company plans to expand from its current footprints in Guam and Palau. Maruyama did say that the company leadership wants to “spread the wonderful products and food of Japan throughout the world and bring excitement and joy to the people of the region.”
“As our company name, PPIH (Pan Pacific International Holdings), suggests, our priority is to open stores in the Pacific Rim. Guam and Palau are part of that, and we will continue to do our utmost to make them a part of our business,” he said. “As a Japanese company, we want to spread DONKI-ism around the world and give people exciting and thrilling shopping and dining experiences. We would be more than happy to contribute to the local economy as a result.”
Stoney’s Mini Golf and Snack Shack held its grand opening on Dec. 28 at the Tumon Golf Driving Range and was born as a product of its environment according to its manager, Danyelle Mortera. Mortera told the Journal that the driving range brought many golfers and their families to the area and her father, Ruben Mortera, had the idea of opening a miniature golf course for their families to enjoy while they are working on their game.
Danyelle Mortera, manager, Stoney’s Mini-Golf and Snack Shack. Photo by Skyler Obispo She also added that the island has not had a mini-golf course in a while and would be a nice place for families to come and enjoy.
Roughly $40,000 to $50,000 was invested into developing the extra space outside of Stonefish Grill into the mini-golf course and snack shack, Mortera said. The idea first came about in early 2024 and took the Mortera’s six to seven months for the planning and building phase of Stoney’s.
For Mortera, running a business unit is something new to her. Outside of managing the mini-golf course, she is a manager-in-training at her family-run Stonefish Grill, but luckily her father was there to guide her through the process.
“Building a mini golf [course] is new to me, but thankfully my dad has had some background with the building business, so I was just there watching my dad and he was helping me; teaching me along the way,” she said.
Stoney’s is a nine-hole course located just outside of the Stonefish Grill and according to Mortera guests are treated to a picturesque sunset as they play on the green.
“I think that’s what makes this place really special, because we’re outdoors, and on certain nights you get a really nice view of the sunset,” she said.
The vibe Mortera wants the business to impart is “fun and chill” with an environment where people of all ages can enjoy.
In the coming year, Stoney’s plans on adding more obstacles to the courses as well as hosting themed nights.
Currently under construction at Stoney’s is a pavilion area for guests to relax between games and a planned bunker section on the far end of the course.
In addition to the mini-golf course is the Snack Shack, which serves snacks to enjoy while putting around the course. Guests also have the option to order catered food from Stonefish Grill. mbj
