FRONT STREET IN LAHAINA. DEVASTATING BUSINESSES IN THE POPULAR TOURIST ATTRACTION. ONE OF THOSE BUSINESSES AS A SHOP WITH HAWAII AND MADE HOME TO COURT, WALL ART AND PHOTO FRAMES. ALL OF THE INVENTORY WAS DESTROYED IN THE FIRE INCLUDING THE 9000 SQUARE-FOOT BUILDING. JOINING US LIVE OVER ZOOM IS THE FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE AND MAKING TIME TO TALK TO US DESPITE THE CIRCUMSTANCES. >> THANK YOU, KARINA, APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY. ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE BEEN A CUSTOMER, IT FEELS EVEN MORE SPECIAL. >> I SHARED A PICTURE OF THE FRAME I BOUGHT AT YOUR STORE, I WILL SHOW IT LATER ON IN OUR INTERVIEW. I DO WANT TO MENTION YOU ARE FROM THE BAY AREA. BUT YOU NOW LIVE IN WAHOO -- O AHU, WHERE YOU ARE SAFE. BUT YOUR EMPLOYEES LIVE AND WORK IN LAHAINA AT YOUR SHOP. HOW ARE THEY DOING? >> THEY ARE DOING AS WELL AS CAN BE EXPECTED. IT'S OBVIOUSLY REALLY HARD, THE EMOTION. I THINK WE ARE ALL FEELING A LOT OF EMOTION. WE DIDN'T KNOW UNTIL YESTERDAY THAT ALL NINE ARE SAFE. THREE OF THEM LOST THEIR HOME. SO, YEAH, I THINK WE ALL ARE STILL ASSIMILATING IT. THERE'S SO MUCH EMOTION TO TAKE IN. KARINA: I'M GLAD THEY ARE ALL OK. DEVASTATING, THE FACT THREE OF THEM LOST THEIR HOMES. BUT AT LEAST THEY ARE SAFE RIGHT NOW. CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT COCONENE? THE CHARMING STORE ON FRONT STREET? HOME DECOR, SO MANY LOCALLY MADE ITEMS. I PURCHASED A BEAUTIFULLY MADE FRAME THERE JUST LAST JANUARY. MANY WHO VISIT BUY KEEPSAKES MADE BY LOCAL ARTISTS. TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT. THE FACT THAT YOU EMPLOY AND WORK WITH LOCAL ARTISTS. >> YEAH. THANKS SO MUCH. IT'S BEEN AN INCREDIBLE 40 YEAR JOURNEY. I THINK THAT'S WHERE THE EMOTION COMES FROM. THE TEAM, THERE'S ARTISTS THIS IMPACTS. THERE IS EMPLOYEES. THERE IS PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PEOPLE. ALL THE PRODUCT IS MADE IN OAHU, IN OUR FACTORY. IT IMPACTS SO MANY PEOPLE. WE WORK SO HARD TO TO CREATE THIS AUTHENTIC BRAND. EVERYTHING WE'VE DONE, OUR WHOLE COURIER HAS BEEN AROUND HOME AND MEMORIES. SO YEAH, THERE'S SO MANY PEOPLE IT IMPACTS. FROM OUR TEAM IN MAUI, TO THE TEAM THAT BUILDS THE PRODUCT, SO THE ARTISTS. IT'S VERY DEVASTATING. KARINA: AND SOME OF THE VIDEO, YOU CAN SEE YOUR BUSINESS IS RIGHT THERE BY THE MARINA WHERE THE FIRE WIPED OUT JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING ON THAT POPULAR STREET. IT'S UNRECOGNIZABLE FROM WHAT WE ARE SEEING IN THE IMAGES. HAVE YOU SEEN PHOTOS OF YOUR STORE? I KNOW IT'S BEEN PRETTY IMPOSSIBLE TO GO THERE IN PERSON . DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH YOU LOST IN THE FIRE? WE ARE DOING A GOOGLE EARTH RIGHT NOW TO SHOW EXACTLY PEOPLE WHERE YOUR STOREFRONT IS. HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO GET ANY UPDATES OR SEEN ANY PICTURES OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE NOW? >> THE CLOSEST WE'VE GOTTEN IS THE BUILDING NEXT DOOR. EVERYTHING WE CAN SEE PERIPHERALLY, IT WAS ABSOLUTELY IN FLAMES. EVERYTHING WE CAN SEE SO FAR AND EVERYTHING WE KNOW, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING LEFT. AS FAR AS WE KNOW, THE WHOLE FRONT STREET IS JUST COMPLETELY DEVASTATED. THERE'S REALLY NOTHING LEFT. KARINA: WE ARE LOOKING AT THE GOOGLE EARTH IMAGES RIGHT NOW AGAIN OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE BEFORE THE FIRE. WE WILL SHOW YOU IMAGES OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE NOW. YOUR SHOP IS IN THE SAME SITUATION AS MANY BUSINESSES WHO LOST EVERYTHING. HOW DO YOU AND OTHERS EVEN START PICKING UP THE PIECES? WHAT HAVE THE LAST FEW DAYS BEEN LIKE FOR YOU? >> IT'S BEEN A REALLYWILD RIDE. WE ARE ALL GOING THROUGH A LOT OF EMOTIONS. MY WIFE AND I WERE HUGGING. I'M USUALLY NOT AN EMOTIONAL GUY. FOR ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN TO FRONT STREET, THERE'S SO MUCH HISTORY AND OHANA. AND WE ALL FEEL -- MY WIFE WAS GOING THROUGH THE MOTION OF, I FEEL SO BAD FOR US, IT WAS A BIG ASSET FOR US, WE ALSO OWNED THE BUILDING. TO HAVE EVERYTHING GONE, SHE'S SAYING, WHAT ABOUT ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE? I FEEL BAD FOR MYSELF -- I THINK WE ARE ALL GOING THROUGH THAT. THE DEVASTATION, YOU HAVE ARTISTS, SMALL LANDOWNERS. SO MUCH MONETARY BENEFIT TO THE COMMUNITY IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS. THE EMPATHY AND OUR HEARTS GO OUT TO EVERYBODY THAT HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS. IT IS SO IMPACTFUL TO ALL OF US. KARINA: WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THOUSANDS OF JOBS. PEOPLE WITHOUT JOBS NOW. PEOPLE WHO WORKED IN THAT POPULAR TOURIST AREA. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT IMPACT? THE RESIDENTS THERE? BECAUSE MANY WORKED ON FRONT STREET OR OFF FRONT STREET, THAT ENTIRE AREA. >> IT'S JUST SO HARD. MOST OF OUR EMPLOYEES WORKED RIGHT IN THAT AREA. THEIR HOUSES, THEIR BUSINESS -- AGAIN, LAHAINA'S AN ART CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE THAT THIS INFECTS. I HAVE ALREADY BEEN FOCUSED ON NEW LOCATIONS. WE NEED TO LOOK FORWARD, AS HARD AS THAT IS RIGHT NOW. OUR BUILDING -- RIGHT NEXT TO THIS BUILDING, WE ARE TO THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF IT. WE WERE WOOD, AND WE ARE ALL GONE. THE IMPACTS ARE SO WIDE-RANGING. THAT IS MY WHOLE GOAL. WE MAKE THINGS ON AN ISLAND. THIS WAS OUR NUMBER ONE RETAIL DOOR. 130,000 JUST LAST MONTH CONTRIBUTED JUST FROM THIS ONE STORE. WE ARE JUST ONE SMALL PIECE OF THE PIE. SO YOU CAN IMAGINE, TO YOUR POINT, THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE. I THINK WE REALLY NEED TO FOCUS MORE ON THE GOOD NEWS. THE GOVERNOR AND THE GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN GREAT. PRESIDENT BIDEN APPROVED FUNDING. AS FAST AS WE CAN GET OVER THIS STUFF EMOTION, WE NEED TO LOOK FORWARD. KARINA: GOVERNOR GREENE SAID IT WILL TAKE TIME TO KNOW THE FULL EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE AND THE COST TO REBUILD WILL BE IN THE BILLIONS. HAVE YOU STARTED TO KIND OF -- HOW THAT'S GOING TO WORK FOR YOU AND LAHAINA? >> YES, YOU HAVE TO. I'M RESPONSIBLE FOR 100 50 PEOPLE. THAT'S MY JOB AND I TAKE IT VERY SERIOUSLY. WE VALUE HOW WELL WE ARE DOING BASED ON OUR AVERAGE HOURLY PAY. EVERYTHING WE MAKE AND SELL IS MADE IN THE ISLAND. MY FIRST CALL WAS TO MY ARCHITECTS. I WANT TO BE FIRST IN LINE. SHE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT IT HAD HAPPENED YET. FIRST IN THE MORNING, I TALKED TO LEASING AGENTS. WHATEVER THING I CAN DO TO HELP MOVE FORWARD, SINCE WE ARE A LANDOWNER THERE, THAT IS ALL WE CAN DO, RALLY TOGETHER. THE PEOPLE IN HAWAII AND THE SUPPORT WE'VE GOTTEN FROM OUTSIDE HAS BEEN INCREDIBLE. WE ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR THAT. THERE'S A LOT OF WORK AHEAD OF US BUT WE ARE GOING TO REBUILD LAHAINA. KARINA: YOU WERE SAYING TO ME EARLIER THAT IT HAS TO BE REBUILT FAST, BUT IT HAS TO BE REBUILT THE RIGHT WAY. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? >> I THINK WE NEED TO HONOR THE LEGACY. I THINK THAT'S WHERE THEIR WILL BE A -- THERE WILL BE A LITTLE BIT OF CONSTERNATION IN THE COMMUNITY. BUT WE NEED TO HONOR THE UNIQUENESS OF LAHAINA. THE WAY TO DO THAT IS WE REBUILD THE STOREFRONTS IN THE HISTORIC FASHION AS THEY ARE AND USE MODERN TECHNOLOGY SO THIS CAN NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN, LIKE STEEL AND SPRINKLERS. WE HONOR EXACTLY WHAT IT IS AND AS FAST AS WE CAN ALL GET TOGETHER, BECAUSE FOR FOLKS LIKE OURSELVES, WE CANNOT TAKE FIVE OR 10 YEARS. KARINA: ALL OF US ARE WATCHING THE HORRIBLE IMAGES AND WHAT'S HAPPENING FROM AFAR, YOU WANT TO HELP. IS THERE ANY OTHER WAY YOU THINK PEOPLE CAN HELP FROM AFAR? WHETHER IT'S SUPPORTING THE LOCAL ARTISTS OR FINDING OUT SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT MIGHT HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO YOUR SHOP? ANY ADVICE FOR ANY OF US THAT WANT TO DO SOMETHING? >> MY ADVICE AS A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER WOULD BE, IF YOU TRAVELED HERE AND YOU HAVE AN AFFINITY FOR ANY LAHAINA BUSINESS OR MAUI BUSINESS, ALL OF THE BUSINESSES NEED HELP. THERE'S BEEN INCREDIBLE HELP FROM THE RED CROSS ALSO. I THINK DIRECTLY HELPING THE SMALL BUSINESSES, IF YOU HAVE AN AFFINITY, GO ON THEIR WEBSITE AND PURCHASE PRODUCTS. THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT LOCAL RETAILERS. SO MANY GREAT RETAILERS AND ARTISTS. TRY TO SUPPORT THEM. KARINA: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. WE WILL BE THINKING OF YOU,
