Pamela V. Brown

Write Path, an L.L.C.  

Photo by Ron Kosen / Photo-Spectrum

   Kauai Business Report March 2005

Talk Story Bookstore & Café brings sense of community to Hanapepe

Used books, great coffee and island art bring people together

By Pamela V. Brown

HANAPEPE – Even in his wildest dreams, Ed Justus never imagined himself owning a business, much less a cool used bookstore, café and art gallery that is quickly turning into a popular, casual hangout for West Kauai residents.

In the several months since Justus and his wife Cynthia Powell opened their doors to the public on the west end of Hanapepe Road near the bridge, the store has been more about creating a place for the community to come and feel welcome – and maybe purchase something while they’re there – than about a formal sales atmosphere.  

Photos by Pam Brown

There are comfortable couches on which people are allowed to snooze if their eyelids start to droop while reading – something that’s easy to do in the store’s soft yellow glow. Lovely and varied fine arts by Kauai artists and craftspeople are placed throughout the bookstore and in the gallery annex. Used books in wide-ranging topics, an eclectic selection of gift items ranging from Kauai Chocolate Company yummies, locally grown honey and Hanapepe-grown lettuce to jewelry and crystals.

There’s live Hawaiian music every Friday night, “3G Club” movie night and potluck on Sundays, karaoke beginning soon on Saturday nights, various workshops and classes held on premises throughout the week, and tarot card readings available daily.

And the food: Customers rave about the coffee – no secret recipe, it’s store-bought, Powell said. Freshly made “two-hander” tuna sandwiches. And homemade passion fruit cheesecake and flourless chocolate cake which taste so good that “people sound like they’re having sex when they eat them,” Powell said.

So far, it’s been a perfect combination – and it’s even making money. “Every day I just can’t believe we have a business,” Justus said. “It’s the best job I’ve ever had.”

When they moved from Wailua Homesteads to Hanapepe last fall in search of more warmth and fewer mosquitoes, the couple wasn’t sure exactly what kind of work they’d be doing, but the last thing they expected was to open a business.

When the opportunity arose to lease the commercial space they now occupy, they liked the idea but financially weren’t in a position to come up with the funds normally needed to start a business. “We had only love in our pockets,” Powell said. The landlord understood and offered a sweetheart deal. Should they take it?

“We went to the Swinging Bridge and were talking, holding each other and looking at the mountains, wondering if we should just say ‘yes’ even though we didn’t have the money,” Justus said. “All of a sudden this full double rainbow appeared in the sky. We said ‘If this isn’t a sign, what is?’ “  

Small Miracles

They decided to take the leap of faith, and they’ve experienced a series of what they call miracles ever since.

A student of feng shui, one of Powell’s first concerns was the office in the back corner of the store that a former tenant had built, that according to feng shui principles, was blocking the wealth corner of the store and of the entire building. “We told the landlords and asked if we could tear it out,” Powell said. “They looked at us like ‘Whatever’ but let us do it.”  

Photos by Pam Brown

It seems to be working. While they’re not getting rich yet, Justus said that every day that they have been open, the store has brought in enough money to meet expenses – a rarity for such a new operation. “It’s just been improving ever since,” Justus said.

Powell also lent her feng shui skills – free of charge – to some of the other businesses in town, mostly on the east side of Hanapepe Road, where most of the art galleries are clustered. Store owners have reported increased sales and a lighter, more flowing feeling since the changes.

Powell said her and Justus’ payback for helping others seems to be the small miracles that continue occurring, just when they’re most needed – and completely unexpected.

They began by serving free coffee, which was well-received, but people often asked for latte but the couple didn’t have the money to purchase the proper machine. One day the landlord delivered a home-version of an espresso machine and voila!

Others suggested that they offer internet and email access in the bookstore but there was no budget for a computer. Within short order, a man brought in a Macintosh computer – which he’s selling – and said it could be used by the public until it’s sold. A fax machine also materialized. And one day an artist offered to paint words on their front window to attract passers-by.

“We’ve been given such an opportunity,” Powell said. “It’s been miracles, miracles, miracles every day.”  

Soul Food

One of the “miracles” has been the reception to the couple’s art gallery, adjacent to the bookstore and accessible through an interior doorway. Artwork of all types is accepted on consignment and artists are encouraged to find “their” place in the store or gallery where they would like their work displayed. Cleverly called “My Gallery,” the gallery has attracted island artists of note including Leonora Orr and most recently acclaimed painter Isa Maria.  

Years ago, Maria showed her paintings at Hanapepe Art Center owned by Rick and Anna Raimondi – a place she called “the most

Photos by Pam Brown

community-centered, service-based and spirit-based gallery” she had ever worked with. With the Hanapepe Art Center long out of business, Maria has been hoping to find something similar. It was in fact the Raimondis who referred her to Powell and Justus.

“This is the first gallery that I’ve discovered that has the same energy,” Maria said. “They serve the community, they serve their customers and their artists from a love and spiritual place, not first and primarily from a commercial place.

“I feel inspired and warm – like there’s an authentic connection that gets made,” she said. “There is personal attention given to you but not ‘I’m going to accost you and bully you into buying.’ Cynthia looks into your soul and addresses you and you feel like you got fed. Your soul gets fed just by walking into that room.”

Anna Raimondi, an artist herself, also displays her paintings at My Gallery and loves the comfortable, informal atmosphere in both the gallery and the bookstore, “where people can comfortably see the art and not be intimidated by anything.”

Maybe most importantly, Raimondi loves that there’s now a casually elegant place in Hanapepe for local residents to gather, chat with each other and peruse the “wonderful collection” of books.

Sitting in the chairs in front of the store, she can feel the “spirit of openness in Hanapepe. We have these brief encounters that are so island-like,” she said. “Sit under a full moon, listening to Hawaiian music, maybe chatting with someone from the mainland. Talk Story is a really comfortable place for people to get to know each other and pass the times.”

And maybe it’s a place where people can learn to realize their dreams.

Though Justus and Powell naturally had concerns and hesitations about opening their store, memories of the double rainbow that magically materialized during their evening at the Swinging Bridge kept them focused on what could be possible for them and for others.

“Just say ‘yes’ to the universe,” Powell said. “Say ‘yes’ and the rest will follow if it’s in your path.”

Talk Story Bookstore & Café and My Gallery are open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., closed Tuesdays. They’re open later on evenings during which they have special events. Call for details or check www.talkstorybookstore.com.

Contact Information:

Pamela V. Brown

(808) 651-3533 cell

(808) 821-1027 fax

pam@writepath.net

"Individuality of expression is the beginning and end of all art."             --- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Proverbs in Prose

© Copyright 2004 Write Path, an L.L.C. and Pamela V. Brown  

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