Business

Yamada Furniture Store Turns 92 This Year and has the Hilo Community to Thank Kristen Nemoto Jay It’s been 92 years since Yamada Furniture Store first opened its doors to its Big Island community yet the...

The Sasakis — Entrepreneurs Who Nurture Hawai‘i’s Creative Community Nick Kurosawa Special to The Hawai‘i Herald How do we break the stereotype of “the starving artist” here in Hawai‘i? With the high cost of living in Honolulu,...

An Achievement for a Small Family Business in Waipahu Kristen Nemoto Jay Special to The Hawai‘i Herald On a humid October day in Waipahu, Ira Ishihara — owner of the Ishiharaya store — moves swiftly in between sections...

Keeping Old Nisei Values Relevant Jodie Chiemi Ching For the past 60 years, Seki Machine Works has serviced every industry in Maui County. “Name any industry,” challenged 55-year-old yonsei Tom Seki, and they’ve done it — including automotive, marine, medical, hotel, astronomy, heavy equipment, water, sewage and the highway. The metal fabrication and automotive shop....

The Rap Veteran Sets His Sights on the Sake Industry Joe Udell Special to The Hawai‘i Herald Tassho Pearce has been a household name in Hawai‘i hip-hop circles for more than a decade and a half. But over the last six years, Pearce has quietly been carving out a new reputation in the world of....

Lessons From a Life Wayne Muromoto Commentary, Special to The Hawai‘i Herald For many local readers of The Hawai‘i Herald of a certain generation, Guy Kawasaki is best known as the son of the late local politician, Duke Kawasaki, and only secondarily as a local boy who made it good in the world of high....

Blending Cultures and Flavors Jodie Chiemi Ching First came love, then marriage and then a coffee shop in SALT at Our Kaka‘ako — Honolulu’s hottest new community for foodies. Together, Stephen and Tracey Seta are the coffee and food-geek power couple behind 9Bar HNL, a specialty coffee shop with fresh-baked goods and made-to-order breakfasts served....

Matriarch of Watanabe Floral Has Enjoyed a Long and Full Life Gregg K. Kakesako Special to The Hawai‘i Herald When Sandra Watanabe-Lo wheeled her mother, Shizue (Katashima) Watanabe, into their 22,000-square-foot, family-run Watanabe Floral business on Nimitz Highway recently, it was to celebrate a special milestone: Watanabe’s 100th birthday. “I always bring her here on....

From Farm to ’Fridge, Naoki and Rose Honda are Keeping Tsukemono Culture Alive Arnold Hiura Special to The Hawai‘i Herald Tsukemono just might be one of the most underrated components in Japanese cuisine. Many local folks have grown up with that simple side dish of pickled veggies that provides a refreshing crunch and palate-cleansing sparkle....

From Issei Entrepreneur to Sansei Business Major, Hirano Store Has a Rich History Patsy Y. Iwasaki Special to The Hawai‘i Herald Buckets of rain had been falling in East Hawai‘i all week long and it looked like it was going to be another soggy and overcast day. But the gloomy weather couldn’t dampen the spirits....