Starbucks closing in Hilo Borders

[Chuysmom]

I'm so glad you're not moving, Cat![:X][:X] I think you should throw a welcome home party. Yay!

Awww, now there's only TWO Starbucks in town. Once in a while I like 'em but not for Pahoa...Malama Market makes good cuppa in the mornings. Not so hard on the wallet, either.

P.S. Oh Yah, with Target and Safeway about to break ground across the street, I wonder if that didn't have something to do with the choice. Or, maybe the overhead is lower?



Carrie Rojo

"Every area of trouble gives out a ray of hope; and the one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable."
-- John Fitzgerald Kennedy

[missydog1]

hi Devany,
well of course I do know Basically Books (I've been living around Hilo town about 5 years now), but I don't like it as much as you do. I have bought a few books there, and some Christmas presents, but to me the prices are very oriented towards tourists, especially cruise ship visitors.

I buy very few books these days, as I already have 1000 or so that I need to trim ... I bought lots of used books when in grad school at Cal, especially from Moe's and Pegasus, and I brought most of them with me. The bookcases groan ... []

I still buy CD's, and I always use the coupons to get a good chunk off the list price.
Even though I don't buy their books, Borders lets me read them, on a couch, drinking a chai latte ... Basically Books would never do that. I know Borders is the dreaded "chain" but their concept is great.

I think the Starbucks haters don't actually hang out at the Borders. It is the closest thing to a coffee shop community I've seen in Hilo. I see the same people. People play Scrabble, visit, use their computers. People have interesting conversations. There is no pressure to buy anything, and that's probably why it underperformed. They even let you bring food over from Island Naturals, at least the Starbucks folks did.

And every person working the counter was nice, kind, cheerful, and never rude.
I talked to one girl yesterday who works there who said she was so sad, like her living room was closing up. That's how I feel too.

I don't go to the other Starbucks in Hilo, because there's not the same kind of people hanging out. So I will wait impatiently for the new franchise to open. []
and it's OK with me if people don't like it as much as I do, because there are already enough regulars that it's always hard to find a table!

[Devany]

Kathy, I agree, Basically Books does cater somewhat to tourists, but they have so many great (even out of print) books on Hawaiian History, gardening and local culture that I have really enjoyed. And of course they will order anything for you too. Their maps (like wall maps) are also awesome. Their Petroglyph Press books are great too. We had to give away a ton of books before the move here (also from the East Bay ~ Land of Peets). But we still have about 300 or so and I am a little concerned about how to store them here. What do you do with your books to keep them in good shape with all of this humidity? We live right on the ocean, so that is double trouble for paper and books. One of my friends told me to use a solution of Listerine and water and wipe down the books once a year, but I am not sure how that will help yet and most of all, I am concerned about the bindings and book jackets. I would LOVE to hear your ideas since you have so many books and they have been here so long.

I have been to Seattle's Best before in other Borders and it was the same kind of vibe. You will be fine and happy there. It sounds like they have a great base of regulars and I doubt that will change no matter who is the Barista.

One nice thing I can say about Borders is that they distribute the magazine I write for, Edible Hawaiian Islands. It is a free quarterly on sustainable food culture.

And dare I ask how the Library System is here? We decided for fiction that is where we would get books to eliminate the storage issue.



Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany

Devany Vickery-Davidson
East Bay Potters
www.eastbaypotters.com
www.myhawaiianhome.blogspot.com
www.travelingfork.blogspot.com

[missydog1]

Hi devany,
that is so true, BB has all of that. I forgot to say that we have already acquired a lot of what they specialize in, before we moved here and just after. So several years down the road I'm in a different space with what I need, and frankly I miss the great parts of Berkeley, although not dealing with the crazies and the panhandlers and the parking.

I know no secrets about keeping books good, except avoid letting them stay in a damp environment away from circulation. I had a friend tell me to wipe them down with baking soda as an anti-mildew tip, after a miscalculated move left my books boxed in a container in Hilo for six months.

That was when I lost a lot to mildew, furniture and paper.
But in my houses, I run a dehumidifier if it gets too damp.
I live close to the ocean (I can see the waves ripple, although I'm not as close as you). This is a dry house though, that gets a lot of sun, and the books are fine here.

That's all I've got ... keep the house circulating and if the winter dampness gets to be too much, close all the windows and run the dehumidifier until the pores are dry again!

Lastly, don't expect anything to stay pristine; it won't.

oh and thanks for the encouragement about Seattle's Best. Yeah, I have never cared who ran the concession. It was good before Starbucks. The only thing I mind is the down time. Last time it was down for months because Starbucks did a remodel, including noisy construction. Knock on wood, no more of that.

[frossie]

quote:

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Originally posted by macuu222

I just wonder why Starbucks is moving out of Borders in the first place. They seem to be always very busy in there. Busier than the Starbucks across the street in Puainako Mall which isn't being closed.

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Probably because the Borders coffee store is closed during the morning rush (because the bookstore itself is closed). Even though Borders seems busier at other times, that 6-9am slot is really lucrative - lots of people coming through, and no dallying taking up couch space.

Personally, I am determined to avoid any coffee store that can't manage to toast a bagel...