From garage noodles to generations of crunch: Fourth-generation owners carry on Maebo Noodle Factory in Hilo

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - From a garage noodle business to a snack enjoyed for generations, Maebo Noodle Factory is bringing a little crunch to the kitchen.

Fourth-generation co-owners Porsche Ha’o and Chasity Enoka, joined Hawaii News Now Sunrise along with executive operations assistant Sacha Enos, to share their family story and tasty ways to enjoy their products.

A Hilo family story since 1950

In 1950, their great-grandparents started a noodle company in their garage in Hilo, the owners said.

Their great-grandmother experimented with a won ton pi recipe she had and used to give them away to her noodle customers, they said. The chips quickly became popular, and their grandpa named them One-ton chips — a play on the word “won ton” — as he created the iconic man still used as the logo today.

Hero product and new twists

The hero product is the original One-ton chips, still made with the same recipe as 76 years ago, they said.

Their generation has added new items including One-ton chip cookies, a shortbread with pieces of chips in them, furikake One-ton chips with a sweet glaze, and brand-new cinnamon crisps, a cinnamon sugar-coated One-ton chip, they said.

The cinnamon crisps are only available at Mana Up they say.

Besides eating them out of the bag, the chips can be used on salad, eaten with dip, used as the chips for poke or kalua nachos, they said.

Their noodles are still distributed out of the factory in Hilo to restaurants and can be used as saimin or chow fun in soup or fried, they said.

Mana Up Cohort 11

Maebo Noodle Factory will be a part of Mana Up’s Cohort 11. The showcase is Nov. 5 at Bloomingdale’s Ala Moana.

For more information about their noodle visit, their website.