‘Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii’ hoping to open in Va. Square next month | ARLnow.com

A Hawaiian-themed coffee shop with an eye-catching name is aiming for a November opening in Virginia Square.

Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii is preparing to open in the former Dunkin’ Donuts space at 3701 N. Fairfax Drive, with final inspections scheduled in coming weeks, franchise owners Richard and Michelle Lee told ARLnow. The husband-wife duo also owns a Bad Ass Coffee in Alexandria.

The name of the shop — which sells dozens of drinks and breakfast items, including several tropical offerings — references generations of coffee-carrying donkeys on Hawaii. Native Hawaiians of the Kona region call them “bad ass ones” for their strength and stubbornness.

“It’s really giving kudos and tribute to the donkey that’s carrying the coffee beans up the steep mountains of Hawaii,” Richard Lee said.

The shop’s Hawaiian heritage also comes through in its mild, low-acidity coffee beans grown in Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai’i, Ka’u and Kona. Beans from Kona on The Big Island are particularly enriched by their proximity to several volcanoes.

“Kona coffee is the least acidic of all beans,” Richard Lee said. “So obviously, it’s depending on the palate, but at least when I drink a cup of Kona, it’ll be very smooth.”

In addition to lattes, cold brews, drip coffee and frozen blended coffees, the company sells bags of whole beans and grounds. Other offerings include smoothies and sandwiches made on King’s Hawaiian sweet bread rolls — including a spam, egg and cheese with pineapple and barbecue sauce.

Bad Ass Coffee, founded in Hawaii in 1989, has 34 locations in total.

The Lees opened the Alexandria location in March 2023, and are currently planning for a third Northern Virginia location — no word yet on where — as the Arlington shop opening nears.

Katie Taranto is a reporter at Local News Now, primarily covering business, public safety and the city of Falls Church. She graduated from the University of Missouri in 2024, where she previously covered K-12 education at The Columbia Missourian. She is originally from Macungie, Pennsylvania.