In Honolulu, there’s a new storefront on Waialae Avenue that combines the talents of a local baker and a butcher.
The Local General Store is about halfway between its May 27 soft opening and its upcoming July grand opening.
The storefront may be new, but the business has been grown slowly and carefully by its owners Harley and Jason Chow.
When the duo moved back to Oʻahu in 2019, they started out with a pop-up store in the former Kaimukī Superette and made frequent appearances at farmers markets — all while building a name for the brand.
Harley Chow, originally from Waipahu, is a baker who learned to make croissants at Jane the Bakery in San Francisco. In 2018, she was accepted into the James Beard Foundation Women in Culinary Leadership Program.
Jason Chow grew up in Kaimukī and also acquired his culinary chops on the mainland, recognized as an up-and-coming butcher in the Eater Young Gun’s class of 2019.
That’s what the couple promises The Local General Store is all about. With aromas of baked goods and a wide selection of fresh meat, their ingredients are sourced from local farms. A top seller is a sweet and savory danish.
The couple found an unusual source of financing to start their brick-and-mortar location, in the form of a $100,000 loan through the San Francisco-based nonprofit, Feed the Hunger Fund, which supports sustainable local food systems.
They found this source to be more flexible, given their relatively brief business history, than traditional banks. They also found much support from friends and fans who pitched in to make the store happen.
