Taste of Old Hawaii

Liliha is out to show isle visitors that there is more to the historic town than its famed Coco Puffs

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A group of Liliha citizens, headed by state Rep. Corinne Ching, are hoping to turn their neighborhood into Oahu's newest visitor destination.

On Wednesday the district will open the new Liliha Town Center, which is designed to provide the community with a place to gather and share information. It is also meant to be a stopping-off place for tourists who want an Old Hawaii experience.

It is an ambitious project. While Liliha had a glorious past, in recent years it has led a checkered existence. Shortsighted development stripped the district of many of its charming old plantation homes and paved entire stretches of green space. New generations moved out, older generations did not have ability to reinvest and crime started taking over.

Liliha does not have the shine of Waikiki or the green of Oahu's North Shore. Still, the neighborhood's quaint pre-statehood architecture and its eclectic community offer their own charm -- and could go a long way toward attracting travelers looking for an authentic small-town atmosphere.

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Tell a kamaaina that efforts are under way to position Liliha as a tourist district, and you're likely to hear the same response.

"Liliha? Huh?"

Well, why not? After all, Liliha has just about everything else. As one of the state's oldest communities, the neighborhood is a hodgepodge of many cultures, small businesses and hidden treasures tucked in between the urban sprawl.

"This is old Hawaii. This is real Hawaii," said state Rep. Corinne Ching (R, Nuuanu-Alewa Heights), who is leading the move to introduce the state's visitors to Liliha's many temples and churches, gardens and meandering streams, historic houses and cemeteries, and small businesses.

While Liliha had a glorious past, in recent years it has led a checkered existence. Shortsighted development stripped the district of many of its charming old plantation homes and paved entire stretches of green space. New generations moved out, older generations could not afford to reinvest and crime increased.

"It had such a bad reputation that Realtors had dropped Liliha and were calling it lower Nuuanu," said Ching, who has lived in the district for the past 20 years. "We were literally getting written off."

Ching got mad and the rest is history. Her passion helped citizens regain their pride, and the community introduced several good will-building events, including I Love Liliha Town Festival, the Liliha Nuuanu Candlelight Tours and the Liliha Gingerbread Festival.

When the district got bypassed for state vision team money, Ching mounted a community effort to restore the Kawananakoa Playground and Auditorium.

Ching campaigned for old businesses to clean up their act and for new businesses like Mary Philpotts' interior-design firm to relocate to Liliha. Longs Drug is moving next to Liliha Bakery and building a town fountain. Across the street, Finance Factors has agreed to donate a town clock as part of its renovation.

"We want this old town to have a 1940s pre-statehood feel," said Ching, who has authored an "I Love Liliha" booklet.

"Liliha is a hidden gem, and we need to share it with others," she said.

While Ching conceded that early efforts to get the district recognized as a potential tourist destination were met with ridicule, the planned opening of a new Liliha hub this month is garnering some high-level attention.

Gov. Linda Lingle will join Ching on Wednesday for the opening of the new Liliha Town Center, which will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. The center, at 1630 Palama St., is designed to be a community gathering place as well as a stopping-off place for tourists.

Liliha has even lined up a firetruck to transport tourists to well-known places like the Oahu Cemetery on Judd Street and lesser-known historical sites like the Nuuanu Stream, where Hawaiian royalty once bathed.

Tour directors also hope to steer business to places like the Hungry Lion, a restaurant built around the base of a living tree that once marked the entrance to the Chun Afong estate.

"I won't stand by and watch Hawaii's culture disappear," Ching said.

By the same token, Ching is trying to make small improvements to appeal to visitors. She has encouraged restaurant owners, such as Jayne Chang of Mama's BBQ, to add some outdoor cafe seating.

"We want to create more opportunities for community interaction," Ching said.

Peter Ching, a former Liliha resident and Iolani School graduate now living in Aloha, Ore., and no relation to Corinne Ching, said he is pleased with the changes. Still, Ching said he is glad some things have not changed in Liliha, like the beef huayao -- a beef dish with oyster sauce and gau gee -- at his favorite eatery, Hoy Tin Chop Suey.

"Hawaii is too expensive -- except at this restaurant," said Ching, who left the state 10 years ago to reduce his living expenses.

For many, frequenting Liliha businesses is like going into a time warp. The prices and the atmosphere seem to be from another era. The original chalkboard signs can still be found at Jane's Fountain, where diners will still find menu items like Spam, corned beef and sari sari that were once popular fare for plantation workers.

"I want our original businesses to stay," Corinne Ching said.

The concept is not without precedent. Oahu's Chinatown, the North Shore's Haleiwa town and Upcountry Maui's Makawao are all examples of destinations that were put on the map by concerned community members, said state Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert.

"Liliha is a cute little area," Wienert said. "I think it has lots of potential to attract a certain type of traveler that likes to get out and see small towns, and hopefully with the economic impact that tourism would bring to the district, the product will continue to improve."

Liliha could be to Oahu what Soho is to Manhattan, said Todd Oshiro, owner of Always Flowers, which has operated in Liliha for at least a decade.

"It was kind of risky when we moved here -- that was before Weed and Seed helped clean up the area," Oshiro said. "It's safe now, but it's still pretty untouched and really eclectic. I think many visitors will find that very appealing."

Indeed, some of the district's food places, like Liliha Bakery, are already regular tourist stops. Matthew Gray of Hawaii Food Tours regularly brings visitors to Liliha to sample the bakery's Coco Puffs, he said.

"I like to give visitors a true taste of Hawaii," Gray said. "Liliha Bakery is a must stop on our hole-in-the-wall food tour -- everybody enjoys the Coco Puffs."

It is almost as if Liliha's signature Coco Puffs are a metaphor for the neighborhood, where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

When Liliha Bakery first introduced their now-famous Coco Puffs, they were sans the Chantilly frosting, Gray said.

"They didn't do that well," he said.

The bakery took them off the market and added the Chantilly frosting before reintroducing them, Gray said.

"The sweet, grainy Chantilly frosting and the creamy, chocolate buttery filling in the Coco Puffs are good, but when you put them together they are great," Gray said.