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  • Suggestions for a good book club meeting location?

    Hey guys...

    I'm looking for suggestions on a good place to meet for a book club. We meet on Thurs evenings once a month, usually around 6:30pm.

    So far we've tried:
    --outside area of Mocha Java Cafe (deemed too noisy)
    --outside cafe area of Borders at Ward (too noisy and busy)
    --Kincaid's (forgot they have live music in the evenings, oops!)

    What we're looking for:
    --in Honolulu
    --not too expensive (it's around dinner hour, so a lot of us come straight from work to this meeting and are starving!)
    --has ample parking
    --is QUIET but where our hushed discussion of a book won't bother other patrons

    Any ideas? Appreciate all your help in advance! I was trying to think of a coffee shop that fits this criteria or a place with a less well-known happy hour that's not so busy, but right now I'm drawing a blank.

  • #2
    Re: Suggestions for a good book club meeting location?

    How big is your group?

    If it's around 8 or less people maybe the food court in Ala Moana might do, the diamond head section next to the swimsuit shop is lightly used, has decent lighting overhead. While pricey for a plate lunch range at least people have a choice of what to eat. One or two people could anchor the spot while the others get the food.

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    • #3
      Re: Suggestions for a good book club meeting location?

      You're kidding, right? Makai Market is one of the noisiest places I could imagine for a discussion. And if I recall correctly, where you're suggesting is right underneath those humongous ventilation ducts.

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      • #4
        Re: Suggestions for a good book club meeting location?

        No but I do notice that section is lightly used and no loud music. But then again I usally go alone.

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        • #5
          Re: Suggestions for a good book club meeting location?

          What about Coffee Talk, on Waiʻalae Avenue? During the times when they don't have live music, I have found it to be a good place to sit and talk with friends. Not sure how busy they'd be at dinnertime on a Thursday, though.

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          • #6
            Re: Suggestions for a good book club meeting location?

            Any Zippy's sit down should work. How'bout inside seating at Mocha Java? Gee, I used to manage the place and outside never got that noisy. Inside too for that matter. Things do change after a couple of decades.

            The only places I can think of that would "tolerate" a large group for an extended stay would be the more local eateries, one being Zippy's. The other would be Columbia Inn in Kaimuki. If Flamingo Chuckwagon or Wisteria were still open........ Maybe I be getting old or have to get out more, but quiet places have always been hard to find, even when I was at MJ. MJ being an exception at that time.

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            • #7
              Re: Suggestions for a good book club meeting location?

              How about Aloha Tower Market Place? Upstairs are some tables near the food court that almost always deserted. The security guard will come check on you now and then but otherwise it's really quiet. And then afterward you can go to Gordon Biersch!

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              • #8
                Re: Suggestions for a good book club meeting location?

                Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions! You've definitely mentioned many options that our group has not yet considered. I'm passed on to the group the suggestions which you offered that I felt would best suit our needs. At this point we are leaning heavily toward the Zippy's idea. However, I feel better knowing that we've got plenty of alternatives to explore should the Zippy's location not pan out!

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                • #9
                  Re: Suggestions for a good book club meeting location?

                  I never asked how large your group is, or can get. That's a big factor both in the venue and what they'd generally think about a "group" settling in for a meeting.

                  The Zippy's on King St. near Washington Inter... I mean, Washington Middle School has a small dining room, and just to the right of the entrance is an almost segregated set of four booths. Cozy, relatively quiet, and yeah, Zippy's food. It might function as a space for 16 people, then, but you'd probably want to make friends with the manager and staff first.

                  UH has lots of areas that could work, but there's the problem of access and parking. Same goes for the YWCA on Richard's Street, which has a courtyard with seats as well as a restaurant (Laniakea). I meet there with a group of geeks each month -- from 4 to 10 people -- but for those who don't work downtown it's a challenge.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Suggestions for a good book club meeting location?

                    Originally posted by pzarquon
                    I never asked how large your group is, or can get. That's a big factor both in the venue and what they'd generally think about a "group" settling in for a meeting.

                    The Zippy's on King St. near Washington Inter... I mean, Washington Middle School has a small dining room, and just to the right of the entrance is an almost segregated set of four booths. Cozy, relatively quiet, and yeah, Zippy's food. It might function as a space for 16 people, then, but you'd probably want to make friends with the manager and staff first.

                    UH has lots of areas that could work, but there's the problem of access and parking. Same goes for the YWCA on Richard's Street, which has a courtyard with seats as well as a restaurant (Laniakea). I meet there with a group of geeks each month -- from 4 to 10 people -- but for those who don't work downtown it's a challenge.
                    Sorry, I know somebody else asked the same question and I didn't get around to answering it. Right now our group is very small--we have less than ten members meeting. The actual number at each meeting is probably around six usually, though there are ten in the group. The members come from Honolulu AND out of town (places like Kailua). I think one of the members said her boyfriend's work group used to have meetings at the Zippy's at Nuuanu and Vineyard, so I think we are going to try there first. The member said the sit down area was almost always deserted around the time we want to meet, so it seemed like a good place for meetings. I don't think Zippy's would care too much, as I'm sure some of us will be ordering food.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Suggestions for a good book club meeting location?

                      Originally posted by AbsolutChaos
                      Sorry, I know somebody else asked the same question and I didn't get around to answering it. Right now our group is very small--we have less than ten members meeting. The actual number at each meeting is probably around six usually, though there are ten in the group. The members come from Honolulu AND out of town (places like Kailua). I think one of the members said her boyfriend's work group used to have meetings at the Zippy's at Nuuanu and Vineyard, so I think we are going to try there first. The member said the sit down area was almost always deserted around the time we want to meet, so it seemed like a good place for meetings. I don't think Zippy's would care too much, as I'm sure some of us will be ordering food.

                      You might also consider the Remington College Building downtown on Bishop Street. I believe some of the restaurants are open evenings for the students and the lower arcade area has enough seating for a small group. Suggest someone go down there & check to see who is open in the evenings and also check with the property manager or security to make sure that a group meeting would be ok - don't see any problem but it never hurts to verify. and all the restaurants have very good food at reasonable prices.
                      "Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be."
                      – Sydney J. Harris

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                      • #12
                        Re: Suggestions for a good book club meeting location?

                        Downtown has lots of neat places to meet (I always wondered about that tiny, tiny "park" next to Kumu Kahua Theatre on Merchant Street). Parking remains its Achilles' heel.

                        The Nuuanu/Vineyard Zippy's dining room (it also has a side bar room) is relatively empty whenever I go, too, but at least part of the problem there is, again, parking. Probably the smallest lot of any Zippy's with sit-down service, but a high number of people who like to simply loiter in the drive-in area (or even -- shh! -- patronize nearby businesses), meaning a long wait and a few stink-eye encounters.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Suggestions for a good book club meeting location?

                          Try 99 Ranch Market. It has a pretty decent food court and the mauka section where Wah Kung is located have tables that you can slide together to easily sit eight to ten people. It's quite, have lots of parking and is open until about 9:00pm...that may be your only problem the early closing.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Suggestions for a good book club meeting location?

                            Hmmm. Got plenty parking, but might be pricey unless you have a family member as a patient. Queen's Hospital and Kapiolani Hospital both have cafeterias that serve pretty decent food. Definitly quiet, fairly good coffee and the only customers about the time you want to meet are hospital staff. The cafeterias are huge and are open late, although the kitchen won't be.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Suggestions for a good book club meeting location?

                              Ah, 99 Ranch! Good thought. Very large indoor area with plenny tables, and pretty good food all around you (literally!). They generally don't care if you're paying customers or not. And parking is decent.

                              The downsides, besides the giant TV blaring Fox News, is the location -- it's in Mapunapuna (between Moanalua Freeway and H-1/Nimitz), and if you're trying to get there during pau hana rush hour, you're going to need the patience of a saint.

                              But yeah, it's an interesting loitering spot. My family sometimes likes to go down there just to wander the supermarket (live seafood to be eaten vs. the aquarium -- no real difference in their minds!) and see the sights (and ride the creaky ol' kids rides). Don't miss the bubble tea at Bee's... or the bizarre Hello Lobster game.

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