With all the construction and renovation happening at Ala Moana, there are detours and alternate paths shoppers have to take. On one such path, I came across this, and it all made sense.
Don’t understand what I’m alluding to? Have you been to Ala Moana in recent history? The holiday shopping season of 2012 was pretty bad with four escalators out of commission, so please, no more playing with the escalator circuit breakers.
No, that’s not the line for the Apple Store at Ala Moana awaiting the iPhone 6. The lines of (female) fans outside of Shirokiya is Arashi related. I think the Arashi Blast ticket sales is over so I’m guessing the lines are for the pop-up store inside?? $100,000 in sales on the first day!?!
Good thing @yoda808 was there to capture these pics of lines for Arashi.
Before the big day meaning the Arashi Blast concert, not the iPhone 6 release, there are dedicated fans blasting pics of Arashi at Ala Moana.
But you know the pics would be better with an iPhone 6 or the optically image stabilized iPhone 6 Plus. Thanks to closet Arashi fan @yoda808 for the pic. 😉
Ala Moana Center continues its facelift and major renovations; this time working on the roof above Center Stage. I’m not exactly sure what’s going on, but the natural sunlight that formerly bathed Center Stage is now eclipsed by this temporary roof.
While ambient light still leaks in from the periphery, it’s just not enough lighting down on stage, casting it in darkness.
Along with the darker ambiance, there’s scaffolding everywhere to support the roof, giving an industrial vibe.
Just for comparison sakes, here’s a picture of the roofline looking towards Nordstrom with the covering protecting shoppers on the (working) escalators.
Here’s a picture looking the opposite direction, towards Center Stage and its roof under repair.
By the holiday season, I may not recognize portions of Ala Moana!
Ugh, I can’t say this is a positive change for Ala Moana, but I guess it is necessary. With all the construction and expansion of the shopping center and nearby buildings, safety for the shoppers is paramount, and all of this helps protect you and me.
But where is this in Ala Moana? Can you guess?
Have you noticed? As announced, the end of June brought the end of Juicy Couture stores including the one at Ala Moana. Don’t hang your head in sorrow, just think of how Juicy Couture can reinvent itself and come back as “Juicier Couture.”
Coffee and caffeine addiction isn’t just for humans. It seems the brown elixir has an avian attraction as well. So much so that Starbucks needed to take counteractive measures.
First off, the once pure black roof of the Starbucks kiosk at Ala Moana isn’t pure black anymore thanks to the birds.
This is definitely one way to keep the birds away from Starbucks.
By now you know Ala Moana has two Starbucks locations in operation, the renovated Macy’s location and the new Center Stage kiosk. Did you know you can get (free) refills at these locations?
First, familiarize yourself with Starbucks’ nuanced refill policy for any drink. Supposedly, refills only qualify while you remain in store. Now how do you do that at an outdoor kiosk or in a location that has no inside seating? Technically, as soon as you pickup your drink, you’re headed out of the store in the Ala Moana locations.
On a recent visit, I purchased a venti iced coffee from the (emptier) Macy’s location. I nursed this for several hours whereupon I was near the kiosk. I asked if I could get a refill and got one, free with my Rewards card or $0.54 otherwise.
So my new strategy while shopping at Ala Moana is to get a tall size drink and go for a free coffee refill later in the day. And not to worry, I will not invoke further abuse of the ghetto latte.
Thanks to @yoda808, we got word of the renovation and initial views of the Starbucks inside of Macy’s Ala Moana. I finally made my first visit to this remodeled location and noticed a few other changes.
When this location was carved out of Macy’s, the existing glass entries were retained for lots of foot traffic into Liberty House Macy’s. Unfortunately, the location for these entrances didn’t make sense for Starbucks. There were at least two sets of doors “in the middle” and walking through them put you right in the middle of the long queue to order or face to face with a display stand. On either side, you’d be squished by tables of patrons. Not a good placement. After the renovation, this is no longer the case with these doors removed. Now there’s the one set of doors near the Macy’s connection point and the original set leading to the outdoor seating area.
Like the Waikiki Park Shore Hotel location, this Starbucks also features a mural from Clark Little Photography. Very nice but too bad it’s on a wall that’s hard to see.
That was fast! The Starbucks neighboring Macy’s Ala Moana has undergone a renovation and is ready for business. Looking at pictures taken by fellow caffeine addict, @yoda808, the renovation primarily appears to be cosmetic, but then again, the location wasn’t closed for that long, and it still is a tiny space so what can you really do? Not clearly discernible from the pictures is the lack of indoor seating. No longer do tables line the inside of the glass walls.
Structurally, things look the same although the drink pickup counter is nearer the middle, no longer at the end by the water pipe. Also, the pickup counter is flanked on each side by espresso machines (sadly not Clovers).
I can’t recall if the original layout had two espresso makers. If there were, the two machines were side by side, crowding the baristas. This new layout potentially provides a balanced piston action to fire out customer drinks. Hopefully this means shorter wait times in this popular pit stop.
Starbucks in Ala Moana is back at full strength with two locales at Hawaii’s largest shopping mall.
Now about the aesthetic redesign, here’s one opinion of the old but new look…
Now Starbucks is just playing with caffeine addicts like you and me. Go from two busy locations in Ala Moana to a single, always-slammed spot. But hey, look, a new kiosk graces the Center Court area, and it, too, is busy.
So Starbucks balance has returned to Ala Moana. But not so fast! What’s this?! The minuscule, always-crowded, Macys-in-store location is now closed.
Or is that really a Home Depot storage spot?
Above pictures courtesy of @yoda808.
What are you doing to us Starbucks??? Just can’t win.
Today is March 27, 2014 and should mark the opening of the Starbucks kiosk at Ala Moana. But these are pictures from @yoda808 from yesterday, 3-26-2014.
