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  • Mom and Pop Stores

    After reading this story about the future of mom and pop stores I think it's really sad that the children of these families show no interest in carrying on the legacy that buys them thier cell phones and other stuff "they need" . Mom and Pop stores will become a thing of the past and a BIG part of local tradition will be lost forever. Even in the country areas of the Big Island these little businesses are getting few are far. like the article says :
    local residents need to patronize the stores they want to keep around.
    I always vist my local mom and pop Itsu's Fishing Supplies for a cool shave ice or ono plate lunch. Can you get these treasures at 7-11? No way!

    This always reminds me of the song from HOMEGROWN II, "Fujimura Store" and the last line: "...all of the islands changing so fast, why must we always knock down all the past?"

    R.I.P. Mom and Pop
    Last edited by alohabear; January 25, 2006, 05:06 AM.
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  • #2
    Re: Mom and Pop Stores

    For the most part almost every store in Waianae is a mom and pop...except the fast food chains. The mom and pop atmosphere is one of the many things I love about living on that side of the island. Unfortunately, Waianae is such an economically deprived area that these small businesses come and go...more going than coming. I will always favor the m&p's over the big box stores.

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    • #3
      Re: Mom and Pop Stores

      In order to understand why Mom and Pop stores are fading you must look at the way communities in which we live and work in are being built. Back in those good old days these small corner sundries stores were built in the neighborhood we lived in, so it was within walking distance from home.

      With restrictions on commercial development in areas zoned residential, anyone who wanted to build a small store in a residential neighborhood wouldn't be able to anymore. Existing Mom and Pop stores would be grandfathered in but the reality is they don't make enough income for a generation where life is expensive.

      Plus if a Mom and Pop store was given a variance, that would open the floodgates for companies like 7-11 and other convenience stores to operate in these neighborhoods as well.

      As good as these establishments look by allowing us to bring back the essence of the good old days, you have to ask yourself this question: Do you want a store in your neighborhood selling alcohol or porn magazines? The obvious answer is of course not!

      But have you ventured in the back aisles of many of these existing Mom and Pop stores lately? There they are pointed away from the street entrance are those dirty VHS videos and the cheap Thailand DVD's for sale. Look behind the sales counter and there they are, the racks of cigarette packs and bottle shots of whisky, vodka and others. And there they are right next to the chilled bottles of Pepsi and Gatorade are the six packs of Budweiser with the full size poster of their products pasted on the plyboard walls on the outside of the store right above the wooden benches where you sit to enjoy your manapua or crack seed you just bought for your kids in the same store.

      When a store wanted to open it's doors on the corner of Young and McCully a few years ago selling adult toys and stuff like that, the neighborhood was appalled and the permit was never granted but drive about a block Kokohead and there it is on the right, a small Mom and Pop store that has been around since the times when my mom was a child growing up in that two story house right across the street from it. And yes there it was, the racks of slut magazines and smokes, the reefers full of beer and soda sitting side by side.

      If a store were to sell this kind of stuff in a neighborhood where kids regularly come in to buy their treats after school, IN NO WAY would anyone allow this store to be built. But they're already here. Hi Mom hi Pop can you sell me some smokes to go along with my beer while watching my fuck films? Yeah just charge it to my EBT card. Sad...but true!
      Last edited by craigwatanabe; January 25, 2006, 10:12 AM.
      Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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      • #4
        Re: Mom and Pop Stores

        Originally posted by alohabear
        about the future of mom and pop stores I think it's really sad that the children of these families show no interest in carrying on the legacy
        If the family is big enough they could always enlist other relatives to work in the store or maybe running it.

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        • #5
          Re: Mom and Pop Stores

          Its a difficult situation. Like many families that come from humble beginnings, the parents work that will provide a home so that their kids can get an education and hopefully "do better" in life. They hope that the kids could build on the accomplishments of the past generation.

          Now that the next generation is equipped to work at professions that pay more and sometimes less labor-intensive, they move on to different fields besides retail.

          For them to stay at the store is impeding their progress. If the parents were in another profession like dishwashing or janitorial services then no one is going to want their children to continue with the legacy. Life is hard when you're not making much money.

          One option is to hire outside people to work there. But I doubt the profits can afford the extra staff unless the owner's kids resort back to retail management. Its still not moving forward because the pay would be low. It bad enough when they have to sell the adult-type items, that Craig mentioned, to make ends meet.

          Maybe another option is to bring mom and pop stores to a higher level. How and what, I don't know. But they would need a lot of sales to stay afloat.

          I think its eventually going to go away like the plantations. Appreciate them while you can.

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          • #6
            Re: Mom and Pop Stores

            Times Change. Change is the only constant. People who lament the past are unable to look to the future with any vision.

            Land use is the root of the problem, as was mentioned in an earlier post. Mixed-Use Zonings have disappeared. Houses Here. Stores There. Schools Here. Businesses somewhere else. Everything is segragated. That virtually ensures dependence upon automobiles. You need to study up on a concept called "Smart-Growth" to understand the root of the problem.

            The beer, cigs, and porno at Aunties store is accepted, but if a brand new store wants to do the same thing, the community is up in arms. This speaks to the larger issue of "double-standard" that pervades Hawaii politics, and society, in general.

            It's a shame that some people view change with a mournful eye.
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            • #7
              Re: Mom and Pop Stores

              Originally posted by i-hungry
              I think its eventually going to go away like the plantations. Appreciate them while you can.
              My ancestors founded some well known plantation stores. You know what? Who cares? That time was that time. It's over. We don't need immigrants to pick sugar and pineapple any longer. It's over. You want to stay in Hawaii and pretend you're Hawaiian, great, but the plantation is over.

              Hawaii has changed many times over history, the death of the plantation is just another chapter. Big deal. Who cares. Go on with your life plantation decendants. You aren't Hawaiian so make the best of your American life.

              Aloha
              Last edited by kamuelakea; February 2, 2006, 09:04 PM.

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