Island Fin Poke is saying “Aloha” to Arizona with their new Gilbert location. Located within Verde at Cooley Station, the restaurant opened its doors on July 17, 2023.
This fast growing brand was established in 2016 by its two founders with the goal of creating a casual restaurant that serves Hawaiian-style poke. “We are the first in Arizona. We wanted to pioneer something new that has legs and we think this is an idea that has a future to it,” Mark Blackwell, Gilbert’s Island Fin Poke franchisee said.
It's become their family owned business. Mark is the president of the company, his business partners being his wife, Patti and their son, Brett. Brett also works as the store manager. From the staff to every customer that walks through the doors, they focus on Ohana.
“Ohana is Hawaiian for family and that’s one of the ways we try to set ourselves apart. We treat our Team members and our guests like they’re family,” Blackwell said. “Clean, friendly, delicious and nutritious with the freshest ingredients in a friendly environment. That’s Ohana.”
What is poke?
Poke is a Hawaiian tradition. It’s essentially cubes of protein that are marinated and then mixed with stables such as brown or white rice and spring mix. The bowls are full of fruits and vegetables topped off with sauce.
While at Island Fin Poke you can choose from their five signature bowls; spicy tuna bowl, ahi tuna bowl, salmon bowl, chicken bowl, Korean barbeque chicken bowl or customize your own.
“You can create almost any kind of flavor profile that you want from something soy flavored with fish or chicken, to something spicy, citrusy and everything in between,” Blackwell said. “We custom build the bowl to your liking using our 5 freshly house-made marinating and 5 finishing sauces.”
With about 25 different ingredients, there’s a wide variety of flavors and combinations to create. Besides a few toppings customers can request, everything is gluten-free.
For anyone unsure if they’ll like it, they offer free two ounce samples. As they say, it’s “one bite and you’ll be hooked.”
Why Island Fin Poke?
With national contracts for the best AAA grade fish and chicken, Island Fin Poke has the freshest ingredients. The brand has an executive chef that worked for the White House and crafts the menus and recipes for their sauces.
“It’s a healthier choice. After you eat it you’ll feel satisfied and you won’t feel bloated or tired. For people that are active, it’s a great way to have a nutritious lunch or dinner that fuels you. Afterwards you could go out and play volleyball or go for a walk, etc. but you won’t feel bogged down and tired,” Blackwell said. “We've built a great set of recipes and supply chain to offer the freshest, most superior ingredients so that we can build an authentic poke bowl to make them feel as though they just went to Hawaii.”
Island Fin Poke also has Dole Soft Serve to satisfy your sweet tooth. Everyday from 3 - 6 p.m. is happy hour with half priced doles.
The second you open the doors to Gilbert’s own upscale Hawaiian shack, you enter a peaceful beach getaway. With surfboards suspended from the ceiling, beautiful oil murals and paintings done by Patti and a dining area that feels like a living room space, Island Fin Poke is the perfect place to sit back and relax.
Video monitors posted up around the restaurant play surfing videos from Hawaii while serene music fills the space. Eventually they plan on expanding their outdoor patio to have more seating.
Customers can download the Island Fin Poke Co. app and earn points through their loyalty program for free toppings or dole. The app also has a delivery option and nutrition calculator. With the nutrition calculator, customers can see the exact amount of calories, fat, protein, etc. that’s in their bowl while building it.
Offering five star service for fast, casual dining, Island Fin Poke brings a brand new dining establishment focused on healthy eating to Gilbert.
“First and foremost, our dine-in experience is most important because that’s the only way you feel Ohana,” Blackwell said. “Life is stressful enough, so just sit and chill for a little while and relax while listening to some cool music, watching surfing videos and enjoying our Hawaiian shack.”
Island Fin Poke is located at 2490 S. Recker Road, Suite 101 in Gilbert.
For more information about Island Fine Poke visit islandfinpoke.com.
Island Fin Poke is a member of the Queen Creek Sun Times Preferred Business Program.
