For Honokaa, Gov. David Ige’s stay-at-home order due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating.
Walking down the main street of the former plantation town, locals will not find many places open. While most shops do not qualify as essential businesses, restaurants, grocery stores and banks are some of the only places people can frequent.
And the steady flow of tourists who normally would visit the quaint town are gone.
“We are screwed,” Dena Ramirez, owner of Café Il Mondo, said. “After 23 years, I have never experienced anything like this.”
While it was once normal to serve 60 tables in one shift, the popular Italian restaurant now is only selling two to three to-go orders a day.
“We’re all facing so much fear — whether it be the economy or virus,” Ramirez said. “We’re proud of our community for hunkering down, but it is hurting our business.”
With the Honokaa People’s Theatre closed next door, along with most of the shops on the town’s main street, Ramirez has nearly lost all of her customers, which prior to the pandemic was fairly balanced between tourists and locals.
“We’ve gone from having a full house and live band every Saturday night, to upside down chairs every day,” Ramirez said. “It’s scary to not know if you’ll make ends meet at the end of this.”
Ramirez has been applying for small business loans and payroll protection for her staff. Although she’s been able to log in a few times to seek assistance, she has found online resources hard to access.
A few of her employees have continued to work, but many decided to stay home and apply for unemployment while the lockdown persists.
“We want to continue to offer service to people who can’t cook, or nurses and first responders coming off of duty,” Ramirez said. “We are concerned, though, and wish we could be home to do our part in stopping the spread.”
Nini Leslie was in town to check on her business, Fudge’n Coffee Café.
“I tried to stay open for to-go orders, but I couldn’t hack it,” Leslie said. “I realized that four people a day is not going to pay for me to keep the lights on.”
Leslie is hoping to reopen for the community as soon as the stay-at-home order is lifted.
“It’s a bummer right now,” Leslie said. “But if we can get up and running, my coffee will still be here, and so will I.”
Eden Smith, co-owner of Sea Dandelion Vegetarian Café and Awa Bar, has continued to operate the restaurant with to-go orders and curbside pickup available to patrons.
“For us, operating is day-by-day,” Smith said. “We listen to the news to see if we should to do something differently or close if we need to.”
With the help of social media, area residents have continued to keep the restaurant in mind while they search for food options.
“Each day there is at least someone there for us,” Smith said.
While some restaurants have continued to operate, many stores in the small town have not had the option to keep their doors open.
Cathy Bilsky has owned and operated Cathy’s Angelite Crystals Miracles &Joy for 15 years and has been closed since the stay-at-home order began on Wednesday, March 25.
“It sucks,” Bilsky said. “I can survive on Social Security for now, but what bills I’ll be able to pay — I don’t know.”
Bilsky sells natural healing tools and crystals, but is not considered an essential business. While closed, Bilsky has put her number on her door for anyone to call who might need something from her store.
“This is not wasted time for me. I’m catching up on projects, helping people when I can and walking around,” Bilsky said. “I would just rather be in my store.”
Despite the pandemic and the closure of her business, Bilsky thinks Hawaii can make it through this rough time.
“I would rather be in here in Hawaii than stuck any where else,” Bilsky said. “(We’ll) will get through this together and grow together in the future.”
Honokaa resident Jeremiah Beard was walking around town saying hi to anyone he hadn’t seen in a while.
Beard had planned to open a yoga studio that now might have to be put on hold with the stay-at-home order, but the most disappointing part for him has been a loss of community.
“The lockdown has put a damper on just hanging out around town,” Beard said. “I miss hugging people and walking into stores just to say ‘hi.’”
Many business owners will continue to face uncertainty without local and visiting patrons. However, there is a communal and continued hope that Gov. David Ige’s stay-at-home lifts at the end of April.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
