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By Kristen Consillio
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WAIPAHU, Hawaii (KITV) – After 101 years, a small bakery from the plantation era is finally closing its doors.
Ishiharaya – famous for its tea and fortune cookies – announced that its shop in Waipahu will close on November 13th.
But it will continue to bake limited edition items for retail until the end of the year.
A letter from third generation operator Ira Ishihara said his family were “very happy and blessed to have been in the business all these years.”
Julie Kojima, a lifelong resident of Waipahu, says she has been buying cookies at the bakery for as long as she can remember.
Today she has stocked up on different flavors – she often gives them away.
“When people come from the mainland or we go somewhere, I tell them it’s from my hometown.” She said. “I’m so sad. I can’t believe it because it has always been here. When everything closes, I feel like it wipes out part of your childhood.”
72-year-old Norman Tochiki has been a loyal customer since the 1950s.
He says his grandparents from Japan lived on the Waipahu sugar plantation and raised their family there. He remembers well how business was when he was a kid.
“I saw this old man – he was probably the first generation – he actually sat there, crouched, and dropped the senbei dough. Then the woman always blew herself away, â€he said. “You could be worth a cent or two. You just ask them, ‘Oh, I only have two cents’ and they would give you anything for the two cents. “
Tochiki said he sadly watched many old stores close.
“Pretty sad because it’s like another ma and pa shop is closing and their senbei is one of the best,” he added. “Today everything is one big box, you know you buy in bulk. It’s not the same.”
Since hearing the news of the closure, he says he has already bought about 20 bags of Senbei or Japanese crackers.
Business owners declined to be interviewed, but a relative told KITV that after more than a century, the family decided they were off to a good run.
Sherry Menor-McNamara, president and CEO of the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce, said at least 13,000 companies had closed during the pandemic.
“When we see institutions like Ishiharaya closing, it just goes to show that COVID has just accelerated the shutdown of these types of businesses that have been around for so long,” she said.
But at least a few more months, long-term customers can taste their favorite cookies from their childhood … and remember the good old days.
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