In these Rona times, the closures due to COVID continue to climb. While walking around Ala Moana, I noticed a few more shuttered storefronts.
Foot traffic at the mall does seem to be picking up as the weeks go by, but it’s much less crowded now than during the peak holiday season. Hoping more businesses can weather the prolonged COVID economic impact.
Stopped off at Ala Moana at 7am on Black Friday, and it was surprisingly empty, very empty. The lighting of the still-rising sun was nice.
Walking through the mall was mellow but colorful.
While I was there, I had to do the obligatory escalator check. Were they all in service? Most were.
Stores were ready for the crowds with stanchions for queues but only a handful of stores had customers waiting at 7:30am.
The Makai Wing had the most customers with people waiting to get in Zara, Uniqlo, and Lululemon. I didn’t really pick up anything this morning other than this Salted Caramel Mocha from the Nordstrom’s eBar.
I did hear that Ala Moana got crowded after lunch. I guess everyone had to wake up from their Thanksgiving meal coma, do some online shopping, then headed to the mall.
Walking around Ala Moana, I spied these Crocs that looked suspiciously like the recently released Crocs collab with the Grateful Dead, Bad Bunny, and Justin Bieber. Here are the legitimate Crocs clogs.
Here’s what I saw at Famous Footwear and Nordstrom.
Tie-dye, yellow, and a white Crocs sans jibbitz were in store, but really, the appeal is those custom charms. That’s why all these Crocs collabs sold out so fast.
With Hawaii’s Stay at Home, Work from Home emergency order in place, only businesses categorized as Essential Activies remain open. So when visiting Ala Moana, it’s eerily empty with only food vendors and restaurants allowed to operate. Even then, many chose to stay closed.
The escalators were also shut down, assumedly to save on operations, maintenance, and cleaning.
Hoping these closures of the small businesses are only temporary. But the real prize of this dreary visit is the patbingsu from Jejubing Dessert Cafe. Recently opened during the height of COVID breakouts on Oahu, the cafe is still open for takeout and is well worth the drive and eat in the car.
This is the green tea regular size, but I think I’ll stick with the tiramisu. Mango is good albeit a little sweet, and you can’t go wrong with the kinako bingsu.
Going through Amazon Photos with unlimited storage for Prime members, I came across this picture of Nitrogenie opening at Ala Moana. This photo is dated November, 15, 2015 (and taken with an iPhone 6).
Don’t recall how long they lasted, but lines were long for some time.
While shops continue to reopen at Ala Moana, many still remain closed. So when shopping at Ala Moana, it doesn’t have the same feel to it. Returning shoes at Footlocker, you are greeted by these signs and maybe a line if there are more than 15 customers inside.
The inside of the Starbucks Reserve is like a mixed maze of graduation celebration.
But the saddest sight had to be this – the former location of Banana Republic.
For years, Banana Repeblic held that corner spot marking the near end of the mall before the Ewa Wing ever existed. More importantly, Banana served as the hidden pathway between the second and third levels using their wooden staircase.
Although Ala Moana shopping center is technically open for business, it’s not quite there yet. Many stores remain closed.
The Apple Store is open, and there are several workers outside explaining how to get inside and also taking your temperature.
Details are sparse at the moment, but just know that Hawaii will have a Swatch Destination watch for the islands come December. Periodically, Swatch creates watches based on themes from geographic locations. For the United States, New York City, Miami, and Las Vegas are the only cities with a Swatch Destination design, but in early December 2019, Hawaii is joining the Swatch Destination family.
I haven’t yet seen an accurate image of this upcoming watch, and you’ll have to go to the Swatch store in Ala Moana to see and buy this Hawaiian exclusive. But this makes for a fun gift with an uniquely local flair.
Of course it was too good to be true. Since the re-release of the Yeezy 350 Beluga, I don’t recall any Hawaii Footlockers doing in-app reservations for any hyped shoe release. That’s why it was both surprising and refreshing when the upcoming Yeezy 350 Cloud White showed up as a reservation for the Ala Moana and Waikiki House of Hoops locations.
With the Footlocker reservation system, good customers get a head start on buying shoes, and I was hoping for luck on these Yeezy Clouds. But… after making a change to my reservation size selection, the signup system changed from reservation to sweepstakes. Yup, the regular ole lucky number ticketing system. Go to the store, sign up, and get a ticket and then hopefully a call back saying your ticket is a winner. I’ve won once so I can’t complain (too much), but I would have preferred my chances with a reservation.
While I hope a reservation shows up in-app for upcoming sneakers, the delay in shipping to Hawaii has got to be a factor why this system won’t work for the 808. The digital reservation might reset by the time the shoes arrive.
By the way, the Yeezy Citrins that drop the following week are sweepstakes for Ala Moana and Waikiki Footlockers.
Uncle Clay’s House of Pure Aloha (HOPA) is well known in the islands for serving up some ono shave ice and just as much aloha. So much so that you may want to join the #HOPAlove movement by representing with your own HOPA shirt.
Luckily Ross shares your love, and you might be lucky enough to find a HOPA shirt on their racks. Now the shirt may not have a security tag nor a price tag… hey wait a minute, Santa sees you HOPA fan who likely “traded” shirts. Talk about dressing for less…
Update: Recently read about recent thefts from HOPA. 🙁
UNIQLO Hawaii goes from pop up to permanent in Ala Moana starting on 9:28 on 9/28.
Are you ready for UNIQLO in full effect? Airism and Hawaii-exclusive LifeWear!
Did you cop your KAWS collaboration with Sesame Street and UNIQLO? If not, I highly suggest you do so soon. Launched Thursday night online, physical stores started selling these graphic tees on Friday, including the Pop-Up location at Ala Moana.
While stock remained strong, there definitely was a steady stream of customers, all exiting with their neatly taped up UNIQLO bag. I didn’t get a picture of the people, but at times, the check out line almost reached the store entrance. The entire store had been rearranged with all the KAWS items at the back of the store to funnel people in.
From another fan, supposedly the Count shirt is popular and is sold out online. There were some at the store but less than all the other designs. Also, I had a hard time finding XL sizes. Not sure if they just weren’t put on the shelves or what. The stacks of folded shirts were small, medium, or large with a couple of XL mixed in.
I don’t know if this collaboration series is limited but judging by the traffic and popularity on day one, these shirts are not going to last long.
