It's been years since I last went to Hilo, I wanna say it's been like 5 years or so since I last visited Hilo town.
Whenever I'm in Hilo, I would come to this little strip mall called - "Hilo Shopping Center", just for two reasons -
1. Lanky's Pastries..........this is my all time favorite local bakery in Hilo. As I always would come here for their Cream Buns, Glazed Donuts, & Monkey Bread.
2. First Hawaiian Bank (Hilo Branch), as this is my customer...........it's just like I get paid to visit my friends, and while I'm at the bank, it just so happen for me that I have to fix something for them (while I'm visiting). :D
Aside from these two businesses, I've seen a lot of business come & go from this little strip mall.
On my recent visit this past Friday, I was pretty shocked at how empty the mall looked like when I took a quick stroll inside of the mall.
Established back in 1961, the Hilo Shopping Center was the 1st shopping center on the Big Island, and from looking at the strip mall directory, they currently have the following businesses listed here -
1. First Hawaiian Bank (Hilo Branch)
2. Lanky's Pastries - I went here on Friday (12-4-2020), and they were closed. I hope they didn't close down permanently???
3. Island Naturals Market & Deli
4. Kamana Kitchen
5. LV Tech
6. Optical Dispensers
7. CVS Longs Pharmacy
8. ACR Dollar
9. Restaurant Miwa
10. Sole Comfort
11. The Orient Connection
12. Diva's Boutique
13. Liberty Tax
14. Edward Jones
15. Bayada Home Health Care
16. Keiki Dental Specialists
17. National Fire Protection
18. Hilo Air Conditioning & Repair
19. Yoga Center
20. Native Nations Education Foundation
21. AlohaCare
22. Diet Center
23. Hilo Family Dental Center
24. Hawaii First Community Resource Center
25. Hawaii First Federal Credit Union
26. Sunlight Cafe
27. Hawaiian Brain Freeze
28. Jin Ju Hair Salon
29. Institute of Acupuncture
30. Happy Valley Seafood Restaurant
I'm not sure if all these businesses are still in business, as the mall sure looked pretty empty.
Of course we are in the middle of a pandemic, so I'm not sure if a few businesses had to closed down for now, until safer times.
I am hoping my beloved Lankys Pastries will reopen one day.........I kid you not gang, I actually stopped by Lankys (2) times on Friday!!!
I first came by Lankys Pastries around 6:45 AM, but when I saw it was closed, I was thinking maybe I had come here too early in the morning, and that they had not opened up yet.
Then later that afternoon, around 1:00 PM I swing by Lankys again after leaving K's Drive In, thinking I'd stop by for my Cream Bun fix.
This time after parking & getting out of my rental car & walking up to the bakery...........the bakery was closed, but the bakery items/shelves were still in there.
Please pray with my that Lankys is just closed for a short time, and not permanently........Aiyah! (Sad Panda Face!).............. read more