Kine Musubi, a Hawaiian Spam musubi shop born as a pop-up, opens on West 72nd Street

The Upper West Side has a new shop devoted to one of Hawaii's favorite snacks. Kine Musubi, which calls itself New York City's first Hawaii musubi shop on its website, is at 128 W. 72nd St., between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues.

The shop had a soft opening on Sept. 24 while staff were still training, West Side Rag reported. DiningOut says the brick-and-mortar location officially opens this Friday, Oct. 16. The space was previously a smoke shop, according to West Side Rag.

From a Facebook group to a storefront

Kine comes from husband-and-wife Chi Ian Chan and Lizzy Han, who both grew up in Hawaii. Chan left the islands in 2022 to launch Kine in New York, and the couple made their first sale in early 2023 through a neighborhood Facebook group, DiningOut reported. They went on to run a popular Sunday pop-up inside Sushi Nonaka on the Upper West Side until 2025.

What's on the menu

Musubi is a Hawaiian snack of grilled Spam and rice wrapped in nori. Kine's are made with a house-made teriyaki sauce over jasmine rice, according to I Love the Upper West Side. Options include:

• The Local, the menu's Hawaii classic
• Spam Lakika, with takuan (pickled radish), red chili flakes and gochujang
• Ebi Opae, with crispy shrimp katsu and teriyaki mayo
• Vegan versions with organic tofu or a soy-based Spam alternative

Customers can pick furikake rice or fried garlic rice. Musubi run about $6 to $8 each, and a mix-and-match box of five is $30, I Love the Upper West Side reported. Drinks include UCC Hawaii Kona coffee and Hapa Co. Hawaiian plantation iced tea. The shop's website lists pre-ordering and a "Kine Mart" section as coming soon.

Kine Musubi, 128 W. 72nd St. (between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues), Upper West Side.