T he objective of this study is to establish a baseline of beef-quality data from ribeye steaks available at the retail meat counter in Kaua‘i to help guide production and marketing efforts of local beef. We evaluated the shear force value, marbling, and ribeye area of steaks purchased from various retail markets across the island. Samples were grilled to reach an internal temperature of 71°C (160°F), and 1.3-cm core samples were cut with a Warner-Bratzler blade to determine shear force value. We evaluated marbling score and ribeye area according to standard USDA methods. Shear force values of Kaua‘i ribeye steaks ranged from 2.8 kg to 11.0 kg across the 35 samples tested, with a mean of 4.4 kg and standard error of 0.26 kg. More than half of these samples would not meet the majority of consumers’ satisfaction. Most Kaua‘i steak shear force values ranged from 2.8 to 5.5 kg, with about 10% of the steaks separated from this group with much higher values. Marbling score ranged from 310 (slight) to 740 (slightly abundant), with an average of 450 (small) and standard deviation of 85. Ribeye area ranged from 7.3 in2 to 15.9 in2, with an average of 10.2 in2 and standard deviation of 1.9 in2, which is slightly smaller than the national average. Kaua‘i ribeye steak sample quality grades compared favorably with data published from the Big Island and national studies. When comparing with Mainland data, which includes grain-finished cattle, of note is the fact that Kaua‘i and Big Island data are entirely forage-finished cattle. As with other studies, we found no appreciable correlation between quality grade and tenderness. Kaua‘i beef processors may benefit from mechanical tenderness improvement technology as well as maintaining strict quality control to limit off flavors.