StarBulletin.com

'Crazy' survivor shirt; Cinnamon's anniversary


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POSTED: Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Crazy Shirts' commemorative “;Tsunami Survivor”; T-shirt hit the market yesterday online and at Oahu stores, with neighbor island stores expected to receive their shipments today.

The shirts are selling for $25, and a portion of sales will be donated to the American Red Cross for relief efforts in Chile.

“;That's to share a bit of our good fortune with those ... substantially less fortunate,”; said Mark Hollander, CEO and president.

The creative department and manufacturing employees “;spent Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday to get this done,”; Hollander said.

Crazy Shirts' history of survivor T-shirts goes back at least as far as Hurricane Iwa in late November 1982.

“;We have more than a couple hurricanes to our name, and I think this is the second tsunami shirt,”; he said. The last one marked the October 2006 Big Island earthquake.

It might add a gallery of survivor shirts to its Web site following an upcoming overhaul, which will definitely include videos of the company's catalog shoots.

Cinnamon's happy history

Cinnamon's restaurant in Kailua opened March 1, 1985, and is celebrating its 25th anniversary with breakfast and lunch specials as well as contests and giveaways through the rest of the year.

Owned by Kailua residents Puna and Cricket Nam and chef-partner Carsie Green, the cheerful eatery owes its longevity to the “;community itself,”; Puna told “;TheBuzz.”;

Kailua is “;a closer-knit community”; which has provided a “;good, strong, loyal customer base.”;

Turnover in the front of the house is minimal. Two waitresses and a cashier were honored by the owners for being with the restaurant since it opened, while the other servers' average tenure is 18 years. Among one family's six siblings, four have worked at Cinnamon's.

The restaurant has adjusted hours to get through lean times, but “;fortunately we've never had to lay off anyone,”; Puna said. It has survived by offering new iterations of the omelets and eggs Benedict dishes for which it is known while keeping favorites such as its signature hollandaise sauce. Puna Nam's new fave is a crab cake Benedict.

Such moves have “;maintained, if not increased our sales,”; enabling the owners, employees and customers to look forward to more solid years of operation, he said.

Cinnamon's is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.