Wahiawa stores will miss the troops
| • | 7,000 Schofield troops to deploy to Afghanistan |
By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
During the lunch and evening rush hours in Wahiawa, shop owners and managers say, the streets are filled with Army green.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
But next year, when 3,500 Schofield Barracks soldiers are sent to Afghanistan, many of the fast-food restaurants and the mom-and-pop shops are likely to see less of that color.
Jenny Porteous assists a military customer at the El'gant Alterations shop on Kamehameha Highway. Business is brisk, but it's expected to slow down drastically next year when troops leave for Afghanistan.
"Most businesses will feel it," said Lance McLain, owner of Dragon Tattoo.
"That's 3,500 soldiers who won't be coming into town to eat at Zippy's or get their mufflers fixed at Midas or to grab a hamburger.
"In a little town like Wahiawa, you need all you can get."
The 25th Infantry Division (Light) announced yesterday that 7,000 troops will deploy in two consecutive six-month shifts, beginning in February.
McLain said some of the hotel workers who commute to jobs in Waikiki had told him they were still working shorter hours since the Sept. 11 attacks caused a downturn in visitor arrivals. Removing several thousand soldiers from Wahiawa would be a shock to a town that has little tourist income.
Often when the soldiers are gone for that long, McLain said, their families go home to the Mainland, exacerbating the town's financial difficulties.
Anh Nelson, owner of El'gant Alterations and Albert's Dry Cleaners, motioned toward the work area of her alteration shop. Every inch of wall was lined with military uniforms. On the floor was a waist-high stack of flak jackets.
"We are busy, busy now," Nelson said. "But later, when they are gone? It will be very slow."
Nelson said she has survived other Schofield deployments.
One of her customers, Monica Tolley, is the wife of a Schofield soldier who has never gone through a deployment this long.
It won't be easy, Tolley said, "and, no, I haven't decided whether to go home or not — but it would be difficult to be away from all my family."
Military Auto Sales Hawaii (M*A*S*H), is a red-white-and-blue establishment with a sign advertising zero-down loans for lower-ranking service members.
"I'd say 80 percent of our sales are military," said manager John Penny. He did some mental calculations to estimate the loss that the business would suffer.
"So you'd figure, maybe, 20 percent?" he said. "This is going to be tough."
Aylia Tillman of Molly's Smokehouse was tending to business yesterday for her mother. The Texas-style barbecue restaurant is popular with the Schofield soldiers; about 50 percent of the customers are military.
Tillman and the cook discussed the business ramifications of the deployment before deciding they could lean on the catering part of the barbecue operations and concentrate on targeting Hickam and Pearl Harbor a little harder.
"It's OK, we'll work it out," she said.
Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.
