TheBuzz
TheBuzz
Expatriate hosts wistful
walaau at Hawaii General
Store -- in WashingtonFor four years Hawaii ex-pat Gail Stringer has run the Hawaii General Store in Seattle with almost no training in business or retailing save that which she's learned on the job.
The Punahou and Brown University graduate and former "Bodies in Motion" exercise show cast member and public school health teacher took her degree in anthropology and human biology and dove in with both rubber-slippered feet.
"I started to miss Hawaii so much," she said.
One day she wanted to get a lei for a friend who was having a hard day and could not find one.
"Then I realized why nobody sells lei. They can't make money doing it ... it doesn't make a lot of business sense," she said.
"So with my strong background in business," she said sarcastically, "I went ahead and did it anyway."
Realizing she had "better sell some other things to support my lei habit," she steered clear of shopping malls when setting up shop.
"I really wanted it more than anything to be a place where local people could come and get in touch with home," Stringer said.
Parents David and Virginia Stringer helped her with the build-out, which included her architect father painting the Koolau mountains on the back wall.
PHOTO COURTESY AARON LANGHOFF
Gail Stringer, owner of Hawaii General Store in Seattle, is flanked by Makaha Sons' bandmember Jerome Koko after an appearance at the store.
The interior features a "crack seed store with corrugated tin roof and glass jars. It's great and it backs up right to the Koolaus," she said.
At the foot of the Koolaus a waterfall provides an homage "for all the people who homestead" as well as a setting for the store's bath products, including soaps from Kauai and lotions from Maui.
The store offers what Stringer called "important things," including Hilo Creme Crackers, poha jelly, hot sauces and books on local-style cooking.
Higher-end merchandise includes paintings by Hawaii-artists, koa bowls and furnishings from an artisan in Waimea. "I only know him as George," she said.
Aloha wear is also offered.
"My big thing is wanting to support the businesses from Hawaii," Stringer said. Her wearable wares include offerings from Reyn's, Tori Richard and Robert J. Clancey Ltd.
Not everything in her store is Hawaii-authentic, such as the items in what she calls, "My kala mai corner."
"I know this is so wrong," she said of the kitsch-intensive hula dolls and tiki mugs. "But it keeps the store afloat."
At the other end of the spectrum is employee and Waipahu grad Kiapu Vivieros. "Give her ti leaf and she could make you a car," Stringer said. "She knows so much."
Hawaii General Store has nine employees, three of whom are full-time; it also has a 401(k) plan.
"They work hard. I want them to feel like I value what they're doing," Stringer said.
One disadvantage of being a small Hawaii-stuff retailer on the mainland is pricing. Seattle-area Longs Drugs stores can carry items at better prices. Adding to that is the high cost of shipping.
"Shipping is the bane of my existence," she said.
Part of her store's mission is to provide a local-style gathering place. "I want people to be able to come and walaau (talk story)," she said.
The store has hosted Hawaiian language classes and started a book club focusing on works from Hawaii authors. "Shark Dialogues" by Kiana Davenport turned what was to be a one-and-a-half-hour gathering into three hours.
"My favorite thing about the store is the local folks that come in," Stringer said.
Distance from home has effectively dissolved the Punahou vs. Kamehameha rivalry, Stringer said, because it is the Hawaii connection that takes precedence.
One regular customer walks in and greets her, "Eh, Punahou!"
One of the reasons for her trip home over the past week was to attend the wedding of that customer's daughter.
It works both ways, as the efforts of others have made Stringer grateful, naming her sister Anne Stringer and her father's secretary May Tomita and her husband, Gordon.
The Tomitas handle the Hawaii-end of coordinating shipments to the store.
"There's no way the store could make it without our extended ohana," she said.
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
