You still have time to see a piece of Kauai’s history. You can walk through the doors, wander the aisles and look around in wonder at this Kapaa landmark. You can stand there and know this place has served thousands
You still have time to see a piece of Kauai’s history. You can walk through the doors, wander the aisles and look around in wonder at this Kapaa landmark. You can stand there and know this place has served thousands of families in its time. It’s served this island for a century, been part of the community for generations. But at the end of the month the Kojima Store will close for good, a victim of time and changes and bigger stores offering the same or similar items for cheaper.
And for that, we are sorry. Kojima Store will be missed by many. It’s been there through the decades. It withstood the economic ups and downs. It held on despite the rising cost of doing business. It remained strong through the storms. There have been few things you can count on as much as you could always count on the Kojima Store, an iconic place where clerks knew customers and customers knew clerks. It always felt good to be there, like you were stopping by to see a relative and pick up a few things more than a place to buy groceries. And if you never ventured in and purchased some fresh Kauai beef, well, you missed out.
But pocketbooks speak volumes about shopping habits and for many, it was worth the drive to Costco and stuffing a shopping cart if it meant saving $20 in the next month. Really, the small stores can’t compete pricewise with the Costcos of the world, and loyalty, at least when it comes to shopping, is determined by the bottom line. Can’t begrudge folks trying to get the most for their hard-earned money.
The writing, as they say, has been on the wall for years. Still, when it happens, when the time comes to say no more, it still hurts.
“This is not a happy time for us,” said Glenn Kojima, store manager. “Kojima Store is almost a century old. The family decided to close. There are many reasons to stay open, but there are more reasons to close.”
Kojima Store started in Wailua across from the Chevron station. Over the years, the store moved to Waipouli, then to an area where the skating rink is located before settling into its current space along Kuhio Highway.
It’s been a slow, almost inevitable decline. Kojima tried. They adjusted and changed and adapted and in many ways, it was successful.
Many remained Kojima Store shoppers. Many stayed and worked. But the big retailers, the backed-up lines of traffic, the influx of visitors seeking familiar store names, was too much to overcome.
Places like Kojima Store, small independent, family owned and operated, are rare. That it survived for a century is a testament to its service, products and prices. But despite the best of efforts and intentions, there are some influences beyond your control.
Still, Glenn Kojima expressed appreciation, not bitterness.
“We have a lot to be thankful for,” Glenn said. “We have seen a lot of people come through the doors and are thankful for their friendship and support. We, in turn, support the local people.”
You still have a few days to stop in the Kojima Store. Say hi, look around, buy a few things (go for the beef) and tell them thanks for everything. And when you leave through those front doors one final time, know this: You were part of something on Kauai that was very, very special.
