Kailua losing landmark bakery
By James Gonser
Advertiser Staff Writer
The economic downturn following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was the last straw for Craig's Bakery, a Kailua landmark for almost 50 years.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Owner Craig Furubayashi said he knew the business was in trouble earlier this year, but when revenues dropped by more than 25 percent one month after Sept. 11, the final decision to close was made.
The economic downturn and increased bakery competition has forced Craig's Bakery, a Kailua landmark, to close down.
The bakery, known for its custard and coconut cream pies, will shut down Dec. 31.
Business had been declining for some time, Furubayashi said, and his family knew at midyear that the end was coming. The only question was when.
"Then September made things worse than we could have ever imagined," Furubayashi said. "I lost $12,000 that month of a total revenue average of about $40,000. When you are teetering on the edge, that is pretty radical."
Business has since rebounded with the holidays, traditionally his best quarter, he said, but it will not be enough to overcome the bakery's long-term erosion.
Full-service bakeries have been in decline since breakfast cereals gained popularity, Furubayashi said. People used to pick up baked goods and take them home for meals, but no one has that kind of time anymore, he said.
The bakery, at 48 Maluniu Ave. was founded by Kenji Furubayashi and his wife, Yuriko, in 1952 when Kailua was a young, growing town. The couple have since retired and turned the business over to their son, who has worked there for 27 years.
Lilly Shimojo, who opened Progressive Television Sales & Service Co. in Kailua in 1959 with her husband, Harry, was saddened by news of the bakery's demise.
"It's so distressing," Shimojo said. "I can sympathize with the Furubayashis. It's been a prolonged quiet time in the economy. So many of the old businesses are going and most of them we know the families. It becomes personal."
Nancy Slain, a Kailua resident and former executive director of the Kailua Chamber of Commerce, said the business environment here is strong, but older companies need to evolve to remain profitable.
"There is a demographic and a retail change in Kailua," Slain said. "For example, the Kalapawai Market has evolved from a place about to go under, and they brought in a new merchandise mix and level of service and made it into a next-generation establishment that people want to go to."
Slain said Craig's faced growing competition from bakeries in supermarkets and from smaller speciality bakeries.
Furubayashi, 51, said his 11 employees will be let go at the end of the month.
"It's very difficult to see them go," he said. "A lot of Kailua was raised with us. A lot of the kids that work for me now are children of people that worked for me before."
Furubayashi, one of four siblings, said the bakery has been good to his family.
"My parents started the bakery when I was 2," he said. "It was postwar and they didn't feel that a Japanese-named business was going to be politically correct," hence the name Craig's. "My father worked long hours when he first started and used to sleep at the bakery, but they made a very good living."
Furubayashi said staying in business would be hard on him and a burden for his loyal customers.
"I hate to close up because I've spent my life in the business," he said.
But, "Our customer base is working-class people, and they are affected by the downturn in the economy," he said. "I don't want to raise our prices for them or keep losing money with the hopes of the economy coming around."
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.
