Lily Wong and her brother, Wally Young, pause at the entrance
of the family store, Ah Mai Inc., which last week closed its doors
after 85 years in downtown Hilo.
Photos by Kimberly Carter,
special to the Star-Bulletin

"My heart aches to see this place close up," she said after leaving one of downtown Hilo's oldest family-owned stores. "The place has a special charm that makes me feel like I'm back in the olden days."

After 85 years, Ah Mai closed last week.

"We never knew how hard it would be to put such a big part of our lives behind us," said Wally Young, 76, the youngest of the founder's five children and manager since 1982.

Little has changed through the years, Young said, touring the shop decorated with furnishings of another generation.

Young recalls when his father, Chun Young, and his mother, Eliza Choy, opened the store.

"No one remembers exactly when our parents started the business, but I think it was in about 1910," Young said.

Through the years, various family members worked in the business. Young's brother, Hook Yuen, helped in the store after he graduated from Hilo High School. He was killed in World War II.

"My dad slowed down a bit after the war, and his nephew H.I. Young came from Honolulu to help my mother manage things," Young said. When Chun Young died in 1952, his son Kenneth Young took over the business.

Kenneth Young died in 1982, and Wally Young moved into the post after working as a loan officer for First Hawaiian Bank for 33 years.

At one time, there were three Ah Mai stores downtown: one each for clothing, furniture and hardware. The historic Young Building at Kamehameha Avenue and Haili Street was built in 1928 to accommodate all the stores under one roof.

"We've seen a lot happen in Hilo from this spot," Young said. "Some very exciting things." Among them: the devastating tsunami that swamped downtown Hilo in 1946.

Young was helping around the store when a neighbor called to warn of the impending waves. "I ran up the stairs to the second floor to see for myself," Young said. "I saw the massive water come through, (and) watched a building float right on by, with some people holding on to the top."

The first floor of the Young Building was drenched. A permanent watermark halfway up the wall serves as a reminder of that day.

The once-bustling store is more tranquil these days. But customers still weave in and out looking for a last-minute bargain.

Lily Wong, Young's older sister, said the younger family members have their own careers, so there's no one left to run the place.

"We have been so busy closing up that we haven't had time to visualize what life would be like afterward," said Wong, a retired schoolteacher.

On the last day, 66-year-old Ayako Hamada, an Ah Mai store employee for more than 46 years, was busy helping customers.

"I started in 1950, and many of our customers have been coming here that long," Hamada said. "I have had a wonderful time working here. We are all sad to see it close."

The landmark Young Building in Downtown Hilo; former home
of the Ah Mai store.