Filling stomachs and hearts | News, Sports, Jobs

May 2024 · 5 minute read

The Nagasako family has been filling the stomachs and hearts of West Maui residents for more than 100 years.

Since the early 1990s, members of the longtime Lahaina plantation family have been feeding residents at their former candy, grocery store and supermarket and current takeout counter. The food has consisted of homemade pickles and boiled peanuts and now Nagasako’s famous teriyaki-style Spam musubi. And they have long been giving donations to Lahaina organizations, events and even assisting neighbors in need.

For their hard work, Na Kupuna O Maui and Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa bestowed top honors to the Nagasako family members last week with a proclamation and ceremony under the historic Lahaina Banyan Tree. The family owns and operates the Nagasako Okazu-Ya Deli and Nagasako General Store in the Old Lahaina Center.

Recognition also went out to other old Lahaina mom-and-pop businesses. Organizers said those included Kadotani Fish Market, Morikawa Restaurant, Yamamoto Store, Liberty Restaurant, Hop Wo Store and Seaside Bar.

“What (the Nagasako family) did in the past for us, was unbelievable,” said Patricia “Aunty Patty” Nishiyama of the cultural group Na Kupuna O Maui.

Nishiyama, who coordinated the event, explained that years ago, especially during the plantation days, the Nagasako family extended credit to Lahaina families who could only afford to pay for their groceries on payday. The kind gesture, commonplace in plantation camp mom-and-pop stores, also continued on into some later years.

“When we didn’t have enough money, they would say,’Come back tomorrow. That’s OK,’ ” Nishiyama said. “That’s how they were. They were loving people and took care of us. That’s what they did. And so we cannot forget that.”

Although there is no longer a Nagasako Super Market, Nishiyama visits the okazu-ya every Friday for the chicken long rice. (okazu-ya is loosely translated from Japanese as “okazu,” meaning side dish and “ya” as shop.)

But sometimes she frequents the okazu-ya more often.

“Sometimes every other day, my grandchildren, they love the (Spam) musubi. . . . That’s the best musubi, ever,” Nishiyama said.

“We just needed to recognize them because 115 years, that is a long time, still going. Still feeding us,” Nishiyama added.

The 92-year-old Sam “Sammy” Kadotani of Lahaina also remembers the Nagasako’s generosity to the community at large.

“One thing, that Nagasako family, they really, really, community minded. All kind of New Year (celebration); all kind of holiday, they contributed something,” said Kadotani, who remembers the elder Nagasako family members who have since passed.

“Any kind fundraiser, they are right there. They never say no. (They) probably say, ‘How much you want?’ “

Richard Nagasako, whose grandfather Mitsuzo began the business as a candy store on Lahainaluna Road, recognized that the family did and continues to help organizations.

He said that community mindset began early, with extending credit lines to plantation families.

“Cannot help, you got to do it like that those days. Nobody get too much cash,” Nagasako said. “Not like today, get credit card.”

But that generosity has been returned as Nagasako attributes the store’s longevity to the community.

The business “has kind of persevered with the times, and people really support us. And without the people supporting us, we couldn’t last this long,” Nagasako said.

Plus, the family likes what it does, with some family members into their 60s and older who are still working, he said.

The business began in the early 1900s, with Mitsuzo and his wife, Ayako Nagasako, opening up a candy store as a way to earn side money after working at the plantation, Nagasako recalls. (It is estimated that the business is 115 years old, although he didn’t know the exact start date.)

Mitsuzo was an apprentice candy and cracker maker from Japan. The store was at Lahainaluna Road and Front Street.

Eventually, the store evolved into a general store in the 1950s and in 1965 moved to the Lahaina Shopping Center, where Nagasako’s father, Takehiko, and his uncle Masao opened the Nagasako Super Market.

The market closed on Nov. 18, 1997, as more grocery stores moved to West Maui.

“All that big box (stores) come in; kind of tough,” Nagasako said, noting the family market didn’t have the “buying power” like other large stores, so it couldn’t keep its prices competitive.

When the market closed in 1997, Takehiko, then still alive, told The Maui News that the family tried to stay competitive over the years, by catering to local tastes. This included making pickles when they had the time and boiling peanuts.

The store was also one of several mom-and-pop markets on Front Street. At one time, it specialized in selling fish.

Still catering to local tastes, after the closure of the supermarket, the family opened the current okazu-ya and general store, which is similar to a convenience store.

“We never realized it was so hard work,” Richard Nagasako said of the takeout counter. “Something that we just thought would be in demand. Something like this. We thought we give it a try.”

The okazu-ya has proven to be a hit, with residents and even visitors stopping by and discussing it on social media sites. But not all people are fans of the homestyle cooked local food and “hole-in-the-wall” atmosphere of the okazu-ya, which mainly consists of a cafeteria-style counter and a soda cooler.

Nagasako describes the food as something that “people grew up with.”

“That’s what they like to eat, I guess. Basic comfort food. Local comfort food,” he said.

Some of the best-sellers are the shoyu chicken, hamburger patties, chow fun and Spam musubi.

Richard Nagasako said the family cooks the Spam in a shoyu mixture, or what he calls the family’s version of teriyaki sauce.

He credited his siblings – Jean Akana, Wally Nagasako and Miles Nagasako – as well as their families for continuing to work in the business.

Richard Nagasako also noted that their mother, Tomie, 96, was honored at last week’s ceremony.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.

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