TheBuzz
TheBuzz
End of the line
for old-time K. Kida
K. Kida Fishing Supplies Co. Ltd. in Pohukaina Industrial Center on Kamani Street will close its doors at the end of next month, as proprietor Donald M. Kida prepares to retire and come up with some sort of part-time job.It will be the end of the family business his grandfather started some 80 years ago. The original Kida store stood on Beretania Street near Aala Park.
"K" Kida was his father, Katsukichi Kida, who documented some of Hawaii's fishing industry history for the Bishop Museum.
With a stoic, humble voice, Kida indicated that he is not one of those businessmen who was making tons of money and is getting out while he's ahead of the game. "I'm getting out at the end of my game," he said.
Times were hard for the third-generation retailer well before Sept. 11, but events of that day and following were as if "someone turned the water off and I just dried up," he said. "Only now I'm starting to pick up again, but I'd already decided (to close)."
"I hate to leave because I had the reputation of being the oldest Victoria Ward tenant," he said.
He apologizes for not being good with dates, but his memories reflect the ebb and flow of the fishing industry -- commercial, recreational and sporting.
"The best time was in the '60s," he said, "a lot of businesses were coming up, you have a lot of people with good attitudes and the future was bright. People spent more, and we had a lot of exclusive merchandise," Kida said.
Despite competition from stores such as Wigwam, Payless, Pay N Save, GEM, "most of the discounters had mainland suppliers and Hawaii fishing is very unique, so we had to make and improvise a lot of fishing equipment. I was making a lot of stuff, like lures, fishing equipment, special nets, even our spear fishing stuff, we made our own," Kida said.
In more recent times the old-timers among his clientele have seen the relaxation go out of shore-fishing.
"A lot of the places where fishermen used to park their car and hike to go fishing are all getting developed with houses," he said. "It used to be live and let live," and nobody would raise a fuss about public access to shoreline areas.
This is the second week his business has been listed for sale, in what he hopes will be a turnkey deal. So far the only inquiries have been from "guys who want to buy my stock for five cents on the dollar -- the inventory only," he said.
So after his retirement what, fishing? "That's what I tell my friends," he said. "I'm gonna be a beach person Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. I've got my tent, my stove and my ice chest, and then when the weekends start coming around then maybe I'll work the swap meet if I've got leftover inventory."
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com