In these Rona times, the closures due to COVID continue to climb. While walking around Ala Moana, I noticed a few more shuttered storefronts.
Foot traffic at the mall does seem to be picking up as the weeks go by, but it’s much less crowded now than during the peak holiday season. Hoping more businesses can weather the prolonged COVID economic impact.
While at Ala Moana today, I saw some changes happening. There’s a new coffee place, Island Brew, where Gloria Jeans was. Not so sure about this choice since um, Gloria Jeans went out of business seemingly not too long after opening.
While we wish Island Brew good luck, we also need to say farewell to ivivva. Specializing in activewear for girls, the brand is moving to the cloud, closing down its retail locations and focusing on online sales. ivivva Ala Moana closes its doors on August 20, 2017.
One thing that hasn’t changed and is comforting in an odd kind of way is this all-too-familiar scene. It’s for “preventative maintenance.”
Before the big game, we headed to the International Marketplace in Waikiki for some shopping. This was my first time back since that almost perfect night. But since then, the parking rates have been adjusted.
Two things I had not known before today. Crazy Shirts at the Marketplace has its own design for the shopping center.
Second, there’s morning yoga in the courtyard (and it was packed with practitioners).
I also had a few more revelations while shopping at Banana Republic. It seems the Japanese have a special mill from which fabric ideal for traveling is produced. This material dries quickly, is breathable, and is stretchy. Oh yes, it’s also expensive, but if you’re looking for clothes to travel in, BR and the Japanese have you covered (if you fit a slim fit).
I failed while taking this pic of an electrical outlet with USB ports to charge personal devices. What’s not captured in the image is the placement and surroundings of this outlet. Found in the dressing rooms of Banana Republic, this outlet is about eye level, and there’s a long but skinny shelf under it.
I scoffed when I first saw the outlet upon entering the room. How cute I thought, but who would really charge your smart phone while in the dressing room? Well, not me, but that shelf on the other hand… keys, wallet, sun glasses, and iPhone sat on the shelf while I tried stuff on (but not them slim fit travelers). So I could see upping your device’s battery percentage a few notches just because you can.
Lunch at Kona Grill was as expected with a Yelp rating of 3.5 stars. A Yelp check-in comes with a free starter or basic sushi roll so that was welcomed. The kids menu (for 12 and under) is by far the best deal. The $12 kids lunch comes with two sides that alone are filling and refills of drinks. My pasta dish took a very long time to come out, but it was good.
Kona Coffee Purveyors and b. patisserie continue to be bad influences. You can’t walk in without walking out with a box of goodies and a drink.
Next time we’re at the Marketplace, we’ll have to try out the new Flour and Barley Brick Oven Pizza. They have this awesome Mahalo sign near their entryway.
And yes, mahalo to the International Marketplace for a great morning on Super Bowl Sunday. Can’t wait to see what the future holds!
Albeit I didn’t do a whole lot of shopping on Black Friday 2016, but I did brave Ala Moana for a few hours. This was in the late afternoon when I figured the crowds would have dissapated and even the heartiest of shoppers would have hit the wall. I was sorta right. Parking was available and made navigable using the recently installed parking counters. These things surely eased any parking anxiety.
As the norm, my first stop was Starbucks. After easily finding parking (though in the boonies), I had to gear up for the crowds. Luckily, taking the closest elevator to the street elevator placed me nearby the Starbucks Reserve location by the former Sears. I hadn’t been to this location since it reopened and didn’t realize it had the “Reserve” status. Really, that didn’t matter to me. What really mattered was the short line.
After I finished my drink, I went for a free refill and this is what I saw at the other two Starbucks locations.
That Disney Vacation sign and pillar blocks the view of how long the line actually was. Looks like it ended near the escalators. So I kept walking to the Macy’s location which had gotten emptier in recent history. Although the gate was down, they were open, but you had to enter through their doors and get jammed into their small space with everyone else.
I don’t know why, but my first shopping stop after getting Starbucks was The North Face. While I love the brand, I had never been to the Ala Moana location. Just no real need in Hawaii, you know. But the place was packed…and in a mess. The entry way display of specials was in a heap.
The store workers tried to keep up with the folding, but the masses undid the orderliness in no time. But now I know where to find Smartwool socks.
To be fair, the mess was everywhere. I went to Banana Republic since they had a hefty 50% off sale but finding shirts like this proved tough. Try finding a pattern and size in this jumble. You needed to make a bigger mess to go through the mess.
So even in the late afternoon, the crowds were still there. Weaving your way to get to your stops was tough with too much congestion and slow moving, bag-laden shoppers.
There was still a line just to enter Prada.
Even though I had limited time, I did see a few fun things. The Finish Line in Macy’s ocassionally surprises me with their collection. They had an Adidas NMD colorway, but all the smaller sizes sold out earlier in the day.
Deejays were spinning the tunes as you entered Macy’s. If nothing else, the loud performance woke up weary shoppers.
The Vintage Cave has reopened.
I saw a pair of Yeezys and talked to the owner who had won them in a raffle. Instead of reselling them, he decided to rock them. Props to him!
Loving the new holiday decorations.
The real reason I went to Ala Moana on Black Friday was to buy Yoku Moku at Shirokiya at 20% off. This purchase greatly helped my progress of getting a free Santa snow globe.
So yeah, like I said, a fun Black Friday!
A promise made, and a promise kept is deserving of praise, and yes, that’s for the International Market Place for addressing their parking rates. After near perfection, the management promised to make amends, and they have with their new parking rate structure in place for the Black Friday shopping weekend.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a before picture to compare against, but trust me, that 4th Hour for an additional $2.00 wasn’t there last week. But that $2 rate makes a huge difference in your dining and shopping experience at the International Market Place.
Hold up. Let’s reconsider the essence of perfection. It’s not one static state but rather a continued journey upon which the International Market Place is on. You remember my almost perfect night at the Market Place, only marred by an exorbitant parking fee? Well, that has since been rectified and soon enough fixed for the better.
After that night, the missus wrote an email to the management of the International Marketplace with similar sentiments of my blogged version. Within 24 hours, there was a response from the General Manager himself. His response was refreshingly truthful and sincere. Yes, he apologized for our situation and shared that he had received similar complaints during their short time open. It seems their parking rates mimic the pricing structure of neighboring establishments, but this model doesn’t really fit the shopping and dining experience offered by the International Market Place. Recognizing this discrepancy, a new parking fee is being rolled out this week.
More so, the GM offered to reimburse us the difference between the current and upcoming parking rates which would equate to $6. Even better, he’s providing us with complimentary valet services (until the end of 2016). Of course, none of this is absolutely necessary to respond to a complaint. But the fact that the staff and management of the International Market Place did respond quickly and courteously to satiate a complaint says a lot. While the International Market Place may not yet have achieved perfection, they are striving for perfection.
Update 11/21/2016: Wow, that was fast. Read how the International Market Place is striving for perfection.
Almost. So close to the pinnacle of perfection was our first night at the renovated International Market Place in Waikiki. In the end, this ruined perfection.
Yes, yes, we should have known better. This is Waikiki afterall, and the rates are posted. But let’s rewind to the start of our evening that started at 4:37pm on Saturday. We had 5:30 dinner reservations at STRIPSTEAK to take advantage of Restaurant Week deals, but we got there early to check out the Market Place and for me to visit the just-opened Flight 23.
This addendum to Foot Action had some previously sold out Jordans like the AJ1 Reverse Shattered Backboard and the Banned 1. Though not for me, I did pick up the Banned.
So yes, the night was off to a great start. There were quick stops to Clarks and Banana Republic where another $140+ was spent. Within 45 minutes of arriving at the Market Place, nearly $300 was spent then it was dinnertime.
The steak and lobster special did not disappoint, and the attentive service at STRIPSTEAK was at its finest.
Even when one sole sushi rolled off the serving platter when brought to our table, a whole new order arrived shortly thereafter. Wow, just wow.
Great food with friends made the time go by, and after dinner, we strolled around to see the other stores. I will say that in all the stores we visited, the vibe of all the various employees simply felt “alive.” I’m not sure how else to describe it, but everyone exuded their own personality making you want to support their business.
Even though we had just finished dinner not an hour before, we came across Kona Coffee Purveyors featuring b. patisserie. They too had Restaurant Week specials in the form of kouign amann sundaes with either matcha, vanilla, or apple pumpkin which you can see, our group ordered one of each.
The other b. patisserie goodies did not go unnoticed as our take home box indicates.
Needless to say, we were dropping bucks at this point. Yet, even with all this patronage, the end of our night was met with a $28 parking bill, validated down to $14. A blemish to an otherwise perfect night at the International Market Place. Fourteen dollars is reasonable you say? Maybe… but couldn’t there be additional price breaks, especially after spending a sum of money at the location? Spending time to spend the money kinda goes hand in hand, so why not reward the business with additional parking validation?
When asked or talking story about the International Market Place, you know the cost of parking will be my primary point brought up, not the assortment of stores, the attentive, personable service, nor the great food. Almost perfection.
I blame the impending supermoon for this assortment of purchases.
A surprise twin pack of overgrips in random colors.
A replacement grip.
A replacement watch band at 18mm.
It’s been a few years since I was asked to leave a store, but it finally happened again. Well, to be clear, I wasn’t directly asked to leave the store, but I could not have my drink in the store, so I took it as an indirect request to leave the store. And I did, but this time, this incident was at the Halloween seasonal store at Windward Mall.
The store moved into the old Children’s Place location near the former Sports Authority and relocated play area, now dubbed the Zen Pen.
Walking through the store, the worker told me no food or drinks were allowed and offered to hold my Starbucks. I wasn’t about to give up my $5+ SBUX crack, so I walked out the door where I only then saw their fair warning sign.
I’ll give them that much. They did warn their customers though I’m not quite sure of the reasoning. I should have stuck around to see what happened to the family with young kids (everyone holding some kind of drink) that entered as I left the store.
Roamed around Ala Moana recently, and here’s what I saw (no worries, no busted escalators in this post).
This is the first time I’ve been in Zara which I understand to be an upscale H&M. I would agree with that assessment. The most interesting aspect of that two-story location is its (working) escalator. It has to be the longest in the entire mall. Take a look back after reaching the top, and you’ll really see how far you traveled.
It was easy to recognize that Zara was definitely not my style.
Even in black or white, I still couldn’t pull this off.
It’s a good thing these are kids sizes. Otherwise I would have needed to try on a pair just for the laughs seen in the dressing room mirror.
Hold up, what’s this? Is this the first casualty of the Ewa Wing? Gloria Jeans Coffee is closed already!?!
And there’s a Pressed Juicery downstairs by the Shirokiya Japan Village Walk. More impressive was the long line at 9pm, and Shirokiya wasn’t yet open for business. Is Pressed Juicery that good? I may have to try their coffee if the line is short.
Both you and I know that today’s grand opening of the Shirokiya Japan Village Walk would be well received by the Hawaii public.
But did you think it’s so well received that the line to enter snakes around the corner to Old Navy?
To put this in perspective, Old Navy is from the old school Ala Moana, essentially marking the Sears end of the mall. Then the new Ewa wing extended from there. So this line queues pass Pressed Juicery, the downstairs Bloomingdales’ entrances, and the upcoming Famous Footwear. Long enough where I wouldn’t wait, but devout Pulpconnection and Shirokiya fans would. 🙂
9:45 update: Before the 10:00 opening, the line now extends to Makai Market. Makai Market!! Thanks to Kakaako Connection for the updates.
10:14 update: Getting close…
After much anticipation, the new Shirokiya opens tomorrow, Saturday, June 25, 2016. It’s going to be a madhouse, and I’m going to stay away for a long time. Sure, it’s not the Shirokiya of old where you could find an assortment of all things from Japanese culture. Instead, food and experience takes the forefront at the Shirokiya Japan Village Walk.
This new location is downstaris of Bloomingdales in the Ewa Wing, and when I went to check out the new spot, many disappointed shoppers walked by thinking the Village Walk was already open.
It’ll be like old times, walking into the store with iconic logo.
