Three very close friends shared a dream of someday opening a bakery of their own. Each held a modest job at the time: one worked for a large estate, another employed as a cook while the other raised her children; and every morning before the start of another work day, the three would gather to discuss baking ideas.
They exchanged thoughts on the type of baked goods that would be sold in their bakery. At the time, there were no bakeries producing quality crackers in the islands, so the group of friends decided to try a hand at it. It was at those meetings that the three friends baked diligently, tinkering with all sorts of recipes in the hopes of discovering the perfect formula for a delicious, Hawaiian-made cracker.
But the path to creating such a cracker was not an easy one. Although finding it difficult to bake the highest of quality crackers, the three persisted and continued to experiment. They shared the belief that the perfect recipe would eventually unfold, and with that in mind, they decided to take a courageous gamble and invested everything they had into their dream.
The dream quickly became a reality. The three friends, Hidegoro Murai, Kikutaro Hiruya and Natsu Muramoto, finally opened their bakery and named it after the famous Diamond Head landmark. Diamond Bakery Co., Ltd. was founded on October 12, 1921 and opened its doors for business.
Initially very enthusiastic, the friends soon realized that operating a bakery would not be easy. The first few years passed with little success. To make matters worse, the unexpected passing of co-founder Murai only compounded the partners’ hardships. Sadly, Murai never lived to see the success of his dream or reap the rewards of his endeavors.
Though burdened with many misfortunes, the Bakery remained open. It was also the company’s good fortune to hire a man named Sam Dunphy who was an experienced baker in crackers to oversee production. In 1937, sixteen years after the opening of the bakery, Diamond Bakery mastered its ability to bake crackers and cookies that met its quality standards. Graham, Salty, Saloon Pilot, Royal Creem and Soda crackers were finally perfected to the highest levels of taste and texture. Cookies were also introduced and included Ruff ‘n Ready (similar to a shortbread cookie), Coconut, Candy Bead, Coconut Taffy and Animal, all of which are still with us today.
