Owner of Seattle Hawaiian store says ‘Aloha,’ warns other small businesses

The owner of a longtime small Seattle business said she’s being forced to shut down her store, and she’s warning she won’t be the last small business to close up shop.

Oahu native Gail Stringer opened the Hawaii General Store in the Wallingford neighborhood in 1998. The store features all kinds of items from the islands, including snacks, shirts, leighs, and ukeleles.

“I wanted people to be able to come to a place that felt like Hawaii, felt like home, where they could just get that sort of fix of ‘aloha,'” Stringer said as she spoke to customers on Sunday.

But after 28 years, “aloha,” a word with several meanings, will soon mean good-bye. Stringer plans to close the store due to rising costs.

“To keep sinking and sinking, like so many other businesses are, I just can’t,” Stringer said.

Small Seattle businesses said there are financial pressures from all sides.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the inflation rate in the greater Seattle area is 4.4%, well above the national average of 3.4%. The city’s minimum wage, already one of the highest in the nation, will increase to $22.14 in January.

An analysis by the independent economic consulting firm ECONorthwest found that, between 2013 and 2025, Seattle tax revenue increased 172%.

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 ‘Anti-business sentiment’ within Seattle

Shopper Troy Carr pointed fingers.

“There’s so much anti-business sentiment among the politics here,” Carr said.

While longtime customer Jennifer Wokoun simply lamented.

“It is sad to see any business close, you know, because they can’t make ends meet,” Wokoun said.

As shoppers prepare to say goodbye, Stringer is warning elected state and city leaders her business is not the only small business struggling.

“We have been the Canaries in the coal mine,” Stringer said. “We’ve been talking for so long about your need to help small businesses.”

Stringer admits any help would come too late for her own store, which she plans to close by the end of November.

“Yeah, it feels so real, but I don’t really want it to,” Stringer said, tearing up. “It’s been a long time, and I love Seattle. I love the Hawaiian community. Everybody’s been so wonderful.”

Stringer said her store will host at least one more big Hawaiian party with a store-wide sale and live music, Saturday, Oct. 17.