Why I support my local businesses

Yet another store closed in Chinatown recently. This time a little clothing boutique known as Bad Sushi. They bolstered a collection of eastern and fetish flavored club wear...tall boots, laced tops, batiks dresses, sarees, sarongs and bangles. Now their doors are shut.

I've been trying to cut food costs by eating out less, which in turn means I typically pack my lunch. In the rare occasion (though now increasingly more common as of late) occurance that I'm running late for work or forget to grab my noon time sustanance, I turn to the local cafes and hole in the walls (and there is literally a place called hole in the wall near by). It may not be much cheaper than the McDonald's or Subway right next door, but the food's much better. And right now, the locals can use all the support they can get.

Today is one of the those increasingly more common days where I forgot my lunch. Thus to Fort Mall I walked. Passing Mix Cafe. Door open and staff behind counter I assumed they were open. Not the case. The weekends they hover in the kitchen and behind the counter prepping for the week. I had forgotten they are a M-F establishment like much of Downtown Honolulu (oh how I miss Rred Elephant and their welcoming arms seven days a week). But rather than shoo me out, Bruno the owner and chef uttered in his thick eastern European accent, "No stay, I can make coffee if you like!"

So stay I did while he pressed a fresh cup of coffee and handed it off with a smile. This is why I support my local establishments. That sort of smile cannot be served elsewhere.