Retailers are happy, but many might not open as soon as Thursday

Gov. David Ige gave some retailers the green light to open on Thursday, but don’t be surprised if your favorite store isn’t ready to push open those doors just yet.

“I’m ecstatic the governor finally realized we do need to open for business. It’s great news,” said Bradley Ishii, owner of Thinker Toys and sister store Thinker Things in the Kahala Mall.

Ishii, who was cleaning his retail spaces Tuesday afternoon, said it’s unlikely his stores will be open by Thursday. He said he was originally shooting to reopen by the end of the month and then May 16. He said he was surprised when the governor announced retail could open Thursday.

There’s a lot to do first, he said, such as contacting employees to make sure they’re available to work or even willing to come in.

“If I knew he was going to say Thursday, I would have prepped for it,” Ishii said. “I don’t want to open Thursday and then have to close Friday because of a problem.”

He added, “It’s a great problem to have.”

But late Tuesday night, Ige backpedaled and said that only retailers and malls on Hawaii island and Kauai will be allowed to reopen Thursday. He said retail sales on Oahu will not begin until May 15, and shopping malls and most retail and repair shops in Maui County will not reopen for at least the time being

Ishii said he is drawing up a plan to reopen under social distancing guidelines. He said the plan will probably call for having no more than three people in the store at one time, with signs posted and shopping time limits.

“I’m thinking it won’t be that busy at first, but hopefully it will pick up,” he said.

The state’s largest shopping center, Ala Moana Center, was not prepared to say it would open Thursday in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon:

“While closely monitoring the new direction from Governor Ige, we are diligently working on plans to safely reopen Ala Moana Center. The well-being of our guests, tenants and employees is our highest priority. We will share detailed next steps on our reopening plans and look forward to welcoming our communities back to our shopping centers. Thank you for your understanding and support.”

Daniel Kea, general manager of the Prince Kuhio Plaza in Hilo, said he wasn’t quite sure when his retail center would be ready. Even though the mall’s tenants were being surveyed to see when they can open, some already told him Thursday is too soon.

“It doesn’t look like we’re going to be open Thursday,” he said. “Most tenants are looking at next week.”

As for the mall itself, Kea said it is ready with a supply of masks and plenty of hand sanitizer. He’s only waiting on a shipment of signs and floor decals to remind people about social distancing rules.

“We want to open safely,” he said. “The No. 1 priority in this pandemic is our customers. The worst thing we could do is open and see the virus spread once again.”