Based in Honolulu, Aloha Tofu Factory started from very humble beginnings in 1950 when Kamesaburo and Tsuruko Uyehara agreed to take over the running of a friend's tofu factory. Normally it would take a lifetime to master the art of tofu making, but young Kamesaburo had only a week to learn everything about tofu and keep the factory running.
The first generation of the Uyehara family who ran the tofu factory didn't set out to become the largest tofu manufacturer in the Hawaiian islands today. Instead, the patriarch Kamesaburo just wanted to provide for his family's needs.
The first tofu shop was located on Dillingham Boulevard near what is now Honolulu Community College. In 1964, Aloha Tofu moved to the Ala Moana Farmers Market where the business grew until a fire wiped out the factory in 1966. The family joined together and Kamesaburo rebuilt the factory and started over. In 1976, their hard work and determination were rewarded when the Uyehara family established their own factory on Akepo Lane in Kalihi, where it still stands today.