The store turns 70 in June. He decided my mother should do something, so she took a correspondence course in sewing from the New York Institute. The family sold candies, toys and ornaments, adapting its merchandise to each season and holiday. In the late 1960s, Takeya was asked to help with the first senior fashion show at the University of Hawaii. Eventually, her sister, Dorothy Sumida, who ran all the departments except fabrics, which was Takeya's kuleana, retired.
Customers come from all over the island, even from the neighbor islands and Japan.
We really have a lot of stuff. Business today is good, she said, although not as steady as the old days. As someone who's seen fashions come and go over 70 years, she's probably right. It's in your blood. Harry Yoshioka, right, founded Harry's Music on Waialae Avenue 50 years ago.