By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
BookEnds co-founder Pat Banning, left, shown here with
employees Megan High and Ron Cox, and her partners were
ready when the financially troubled Honolulu Book Shops
chain pulled out of its store in the Kailua Shopping Center.
Chain’s departure
a beginning for
BookEnds
A local partnership has
By Peter Wagner
taken over the Kailua store vacated
by Honolulu Book Shops
Star-BulletinIt's a clean, well-lighted place where book lovers can browse in Kailua.
"BookEnds," a local partnership, recently replaced Honolulu Book Shops at the Kailua Shopping Center. It's a cozy alternative, with chairs, open displays, local authors, and some used books thrown into the mix.
"People nowadays expect book stores to be more like a library -- a place where you can hang out," said partner Pat Banning.
A former book buyer at Honolulu Book Shops, Banning saw the handwriting on the wall as the company struggled to stay afloat last year.
Sales were down, particularly at Pearlridge and downtown, after big mainland booksellers moved into nearby communities. The two stores were closed in December.
"With all the downsizing going on it was pretty apparent they didn't need a buyer on a scale of me any more," Banning said.
Banning and a former client, Maile Meyer of Native Books & Beautiful Things, decided to pull the store out of the ashes.
"We both live in Kailua and really wanted a Kailua book store," Meyer said. "Kailua's the kind of town that's really well-suited for a book store."
She notes the town's upscale demographics combined with a growing tourist market attracted by Kailua's beaches and bed and breakfast establishments.
A third partner, graphic artist Hans Loffel, threw in with the plan. And when Honolulu Book Shops left last month, BookEnds was waiting to move in.
But how will the 1,900-square-foot store compete with the monsters over the hill?
"The Koolaus are going to protect us from the big guys," said Meyer. "People in Kailua don't want to drive over the Pali for a weekend read."
