Post #445483 by Mo-Eye on Tue, Apr 7, 2009 3:55 PM

Mongoloid, I agree, that the market would do so much better if they changed the current set up. If they turned it into a site that catered to local arts and crafts (like what Don did before), that place would be amazing and draw a lot more traffic. If each cart was a different local artist, it would turn back into such a great destination, and I think they would make more money in the long run. Right now, the closest a small scale artist can get to selling their items in Waikiki is the zoo fence - nowhere near the average tourist's foot traffic.

But Christiki is right. I remember seeing the architects sketches of the first development plan. It looked exactly like Ala Moana. All the character, and even most of the trees and foliage were gone. Some locals put up a fuss, and the market finally said that they would save the big banyan in the middle, but everything else still looked like a mall.

I had inquired once about renting one of the carts, and it was some ridiculous number like $4000-$5000 a month. Even now, they would rather have empty carts than to lower the rent on them. In the space where the old Trader Vics was (which they tore down a couple years ago and is now a paved lot), there are about a dozen carts there, which are all brand new. Only about 4 of them are being used, with the others empty. At least half of them have never been occupied since they put them there. This is a classic example of the management's thinking. They tore down the Trader Vics building, which had 2 tenants, both of which were successful bars that were always filled, and replaced it with new carts that have been empty since then.

They're just morons!