Stephanie and Christian Balora serve delicious Polynesian food at their Ikaika Grill, a food truck that complements the craft beer sold next door at Double Bluff Brewery in Langley. As they point out, “They do all the drinks; we do all the food.”
Stephanie and Christian married in 2007 in Kansas City. Christian has a Polynesian background, and they both have food service experience. They decided to move to Seattle in December, 2015. They had vacationed on Whidbey and have family who live here, so they made another moving decision and settled on Whidbey in 2021.
They were looking for something more ‘small-townish’ where they could settle and raise a family (they have a 15-year old daughter). Their vacation experiences at Whidbey convinced them to make the move here.
The food truck provides the perfect way for the Baloras to have folks enjoy their different and delicious food. As Stephanie explains, “Our food truck provides a low overhead for us to have a restaurant business. Lots of restaurants have failed because of the expense of operating within a building.”
The Baloras had jobs in the Seattle Area before making the move to Whidbey. They have a true partnership in the operation of Ikaika. Christian takes care of the back of the house responsibilities (cooking), while Stephanie takes care of the front of the house (working with the customers). They note that the business from the food truck has done very well. They began with some local festivals (Irish Fest and October Fest), and established a location at the American Legion Hall on South Whidbey.
The name Ikaika means strong warrior in Hawaiian, and they liked the symbolism associated with the name.
They both noticed that there were not very many restaurants on South Whidbey. They purchased a new truck for the business in July last year and made the arrangement to move next to Double Bluff Brewery in September. The truck is certified by Labor and Industries.
Lots of local people – as well as visitors – are discovering and supporting the business. As they point out, “We put a lot a love into what we do.” Like many businesses on Whidbey, word-of-mouth has played a major role in helping Ikaika grow.
Stephanie and Christian hope that the word about the quality of their food will continue to spread and bring more people to try their special Polynesian food with some beer from next door, as well. Ikaika is at 121-2nd Street in Langley, next to Double Bluff Brewery. You can see their current menu at: https://ikaika-bistro.ueniweb.com/
