Mom-and-Pop Stores

[scrivener]

What are the mom-and-pop general stores in your neighborhood? Do you stop there? Do you know mom and pop?

I grew up in Waipahu, where there were, of course, several of these stores (none of which remain, alas, unless Nii Superette is still going) but I seldom went there because I lived in a different part of town and when you're a kid, you're not so mobile.

I currently live in Kapalama Heights, where there's one Korean-owned store on Houghtailing called Tomo's, at which I stop quite frequently. I don't think I "know" the owners, but I am recognized when I go in there and there have been times when I've been short a quarter or a dime and they've told me not to sweat it.

There's another, on Lanakila Street, just uphill from the Lanakila / Kuakini Street junction. I don't know what that one's called, but it's considerably larger and has some interesting hot-food items.

My favorite lies just outside my neighborhood, but it's in a place I frequent--John's Grocery ("John's Store") in Puunui. Great shave ice, and really good egg-salad sandwiches. It is a popular after-school hangout for students at three schools (Maemae, Hawaii Baptist, and Academy of the Pacific), not to mention a favorite stopping-place for teachers at these schools who sometimes don't have time to pack lunch.

[1stwahine]

Re: Mom-and-Pop Stores

Ohhhh! What a great question! Our Mom and Pop Stores are "Fuji's" on N. King Street across Kentucky Fried Chicken. The other is on Vineyard Blvd. (don't know the name) but they sell Ono Oven Roasted Chicken, Fresh Corned Beef with Cabbage, Roast Lamb and other Polynesian Foods. The owners are friendly nd know me by face only. At Fuji's, I've known him nearly thirty years. We always joke and talk story even if he is busy. He has ono pork hash and a mean Chlie Dog!

[helen]

Re: Mom-and-Pop Stores

Sue's Mini-Mart on the corner of Kanunu and Kaheka streets. It's a small corner place, great for buying cold drinks.

[zztype]

Re: Mom-and-Pop Stores

No mom-n-pops in Foster Village, but I frequently stop at B&S Store on School Street and Frog Lane in Nuuanu. Best shave ice on the island, no joke. Absolutely old-style, old Japanese shave ice machine and plantation grandpa make shave ice. And ono boiled peanuts, too!

[pzarquon]

Re: Mom-and-Pop Stores

The whole of Mililani is too young (and definitely too overplanned) to have ever been home to a pom-and-pop store. But when I was a kid going to Lunalilo Elementary in Mo`ili`ili, a small patch of little stores was a frequent hang out of mine. I think it was the corner of Waiola and Pumehana streets, kitty corner from the community center. Korean owners, selling lots of candy and cheap plastic toys to kids, and lots of liquor and cigarettes to everyone else. A small Icee was a frequent, favorite treat.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Mom-and-Pop Stores

After I got married my wife and I moved into an apartment in McCully on the corner of Paani and Waiola and of course the M&P store there is the famous Waiola Shave Ice store (Hi Jerry). An actual Mom and Pop store where they lived upstairs above the store itself.

M&P's served a purpose for walk in customers and exist in many of those communities that encourage foot traffic. With today's strip malls and mega malls, foot traffic has been reduced to mall foot traffic. Now you drive to the supermarket or drugstore to get your pantries.

In places like Kalihi, Kaimuki, Kapahulu, Waipahu, Makiki, McCully and other dense-packed communities these stores served those who lived nearby. 7-Eleven stores have become the modern day M&P's but instead of family it's corporations and minimum-wage employees that are running the shops. Same need, different owners.

I would only hope that community developers would design new residential developments to facilitate foot traffic. It was nice to walk out my front door and go around the corner to Wailoa Shave Ice and pick up a gallon of milk or a can of Spam. Now it's a 6-mile drive to the nearest convience store (Wiki Wiki Mart in Orchardland (where I have moved to in Keaau on the Big Island) or a mile drive to Manoa Safeway where I last lived before moving to the Big Island this past May.

When the H-1 bypass was built thru Kaimuki that almost killed off the aura of that community. Same with the Waialae Avenue Viaduct. That reduced the amount of traffic going to the Union 76 gas station (where Blockbusters is now), Jolly Rogers drive in (where Zippy's is now) and Magic Oven (where some veternarian clinic is now). Village Inn (where Tony Roma's is now) was a great coffee shop in the heart of Waialae Kahala until that overpass went up. So was the Waialae Coffee Shop (now Kahala McDonalds), Woolworths Coffee shop later becoming Harvest Inn before Woolworths closed it's doors and is now that mega sports shoe store next to Longs Drugs.

Come to think of it there weren't any M&P's in Kahala. You had to take the HRT green buses with the gillotine(?) windows (keep your hands inside or else the window would come slamming down on your fingers when the bus hit a pothole) to Kaimuki and go to Rainbow Market (and buy Cowboy Matches) or down the street to Kaimuki Sundries or Lau Market where you could buy those wire-slingshots and BB's.

One great store in Kalihi is the Kahili Supermeats where I bought my kids Horlicks Malt Tabs. Still trying to find Sno Caps candy. Kalihi has some great hole in the walls and the good thing is that a lot of it hasn't changed since it's inception as a neighborhood except the neighbors.

It's sad though now a lot of M&P's are owned by immigrants where you can buy drug paraphanalia like those mini butane torches and quarter-size zip loc bags for those crackheads, and porno magazines, cd's and liquor as a minor.

Oh man someone needs to start two threads on hard to find candy and those good old Coffee Shops.

[Miulang]

Re: Mom-and-Pop Stores

Still trying to find Sno Caps candy.

Eh Craig, I can get by mail order. Used to be made by Blumenthal Chocolate, bought out by Nestle's in 1984. You like some?

Miulang

[pzarquon]

Re: Mom-and-Pop Stores

Craig, that was a wonderful post. It's neat imagining what Honolulu was like before the freeway tore through. Those odd 'aborted' streets in Mo`ili`ili always made me wonder what life was like before... and whether I'd be able to stand having my neighborhood bisected like that.

Yeah, the centralization of services is good for business and probably efficient and logical in many other ways, but not having a "corner store" on your block, and having to rely instead on a "retail complex" for everything from sunscreen to lettuce, doesn't leave much room for a neighborhood to have much character.

[1stwahine]

Re: Mom-and-Pop Stores

You can still get um' ...only if you dare to venture. The corner store on left as you turn to Pauahi Street. I bought some for my MAMA three weeks ago, uhhhh snow caps.heheheheheh

[1stwahine]

Re: Mom-and-Pop Stores

I was checking our sister site, "hawaiistories.com." I came upon a story by Eric, "Aloha, B&S Store."

http://www.hawaiistories.com/eric/20...loha-bs-store/

Yes, sadly another Mom & Pop Shop is closing. It is where I go to purchase Shave Ice for soooo many years! I always ordered mine with ice-cream and azuki beans. Strawberry flavor. Yummy on a hot day. Sit outside on their wooden bench and walau'au with other shave-ice eaters!

Many times over the years I visited by myself, with my children and with friends.

Mahalo, B&S Store! I shall truly miss you.

Auntie Lynn

[GypsyLika]

Re: Mom-and-Pop Stores

I was shocked to see dat Navarette is still open. Da small store across August Ahrens. Small keed time us use to buy ice cake afta school.
A lot of Waipahu's mom & pop places are gone yeah. Use to have Kawano's with dat soda fountain. Carl Kawano is my classmate, one of da Arakawa boys is my classmate. Use to have Agmata's across St Joe's next to da okazuya. Takenaka's......pau awreddy.

[SusieMisajon]

Re: Mom-and-Pop Stores

It's sad though now a lot of M&P's are owned by immigrants where you can buy drug paraphanalia like those mini butane torches and quarter-size zip loc bags for those crackheads, and porno magazines, cd's and liquor as a minor.

Oh man someone needs to start two threads on hard to find candy and those good old Coffee Shops.

What does being owned by immigrants have to do with drug paraphanaila? Isn't almost everyone an immigrant, or the issue of immigrants, in Hawaii? They work hard to get a better life for their kids, just like your grandparents probably did, too.

Tears ago, in Kailua, there was a store called 'Mescalito'...and one called 'Heads you Win'...both full of drug stuff. India Imports wasn't just batik fabrics, either.

[na alii]

Re: Mom-and-Pop Stores

What does being owned by immigrants have to do with drug paraphanaila? Isn't almost everyone an immigrant, or the issue of immigrants, in Hawaii? They work hard to get a better life for their kids, just like your grandparents probably did, too.

Tears ago, in Kailua, there was a store called 'Mescalito'...and one called 'Heads you Win'...both full of drug stuff. India Imports wasn't just batik fabrics, either.

That's some old memories there. Mescalitos and India Imports. I used to buy black light posters there. I wonder if Hawaii's Natural High across the Waikik Post Office still sells those drug paraphanailas?

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Mom-and-Pop Stores

That's some old memories there. Mescalitos and India Imports. I used to buy black light posters there. I wonder if Hawaii's Natural High across the Waikik Post Office still sells those drug paraphanailas?

Judging from their radio commercials? I'd say yes.

[na alii]

Re: Mom-and-Pop Stores

Judging from their radio commercials? I'd say yes.

I hear it on the Big Kahuna all the time but I thought they had a law that put a ban on selling those things? I remember that they raided stores that was selling drug paraphernalias.

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/ar.../ln/ln21a.html