Posted on: Friday, July 26, 2002

Fond aloha to Times at Niu center

By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

I kept trying to pretend it wasn't true. Even after the closeout sale signs went up. Even when the cashiers all wore pikake lei and sad little smiles one day. Even though shoppers were shaking their head and saying, "Too bad, yeah?"

But then magazine racks went empty and nobody restocked the bread, and there was no more living in denial: Times Niu Valley is really closing.

It's very quiet in the store. The pharmacy has been closed since March of last year. The deli section sits in the dark. The Saint-Germain, Sushi Man and Watanabe florist concessions are still there, but winding down.

In the supermarket aisles, you can still find some milk and eggs and lots of cans of soup and Spam, but many of the shelves are bare. In a bittersweet testimony to the work ethic of the Times personnel, the empty shelves are spotless, dustless, and the items that remain are all organized and neatly arranged. Times Niu Valley is going out in a most dignified manner.

In what was once a diverse and opulent produce section, only a few things remain: two artichokes, six watermelons, some pumpkins, squash, ginger and oranges. Everything that's left is fresh. They're not selling anything bruised or wilted or mashed.

It's so quiet, you can hear the hum of the air conditioner over the sound system playing "Mr. Tambourine Man."

"Quiet" was one of the best things about Times Niu Valley. You didn't queue up in the parking lot for 15 minutes waiting for a squeezy space. There weren't rogue shopping carts careening through the lot threatening to ding your Honda. There were never more than three people in a checkout line at a time.

But "quiet" was also the problem. Competition from Costco in Hawai'i Kai is one of the prime reasons cited for the demise of the Niu Valley store. As one clerk put it, "They all say they don't shop there, but they all do."

It felt weird to grab one of the rusty Times carts and head into the store to buy stuff knowing anything that came off the shelf wasn't going to be restocked. Other customers sadly pushed their carts through the aisles, picking up dish soap here, maybe some disposable razors there, but no one was loading up, even though the clearance sale is 20 percent off. It just doesn't feel right.

Peter Lee, real estate agent for Marcus and Associates, the company representing Niu Valley Shopping Center, said he can't comment on the future of the Times space. "Probably we'll know in a couple of weeks," he said.

The employees will all be transferred to other stores, but though they're not losing jobs, it's obvious they're losing something important, some connection to a neighborhood, some feeling of usefulness and service. From every customer that comes in, they have to hear "too bad, yeah," over and over, and a little too late.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.