<Begin Segment 13>

BN: And then you were mentioning you also were working for...

SI: I was still working there because reason why I work and go back to the Ala Moana Hotel...

BN: Yeah, Ala Moana?

SI: Yeah. First I start in the Hawaiian Village, and then I was starting from Hawaiian Village. Oh, no, first I was starting was [inaudible] over there have the... huh?

Off camera: Officer's Lounge?

SI: I was working, starting from there now, banquet one. And I asking for the cook, oh, tell me if you know anyone, hotel, banquet, I want to go to work for the hotel, the banquet kind. And he introduced me the Hawaiian Village, her wife and sister-in-law, and I starting from there, working the banquet. And then after that, Ala Moana Hotel, all over.

BN: Were you working full time or part time?

SI: Oh, I was full time, but after that, my husband... I was full time, really I enjoyed. And then my husband one day said, "Oh, I think I go open the coffee shop." Oh, no, why you open the coffee shop? I enjoy my banquet work. He never tell me, "I bought already," oh, no. He didn't tell me he bought... was close, the Chinen was on, but I think husband came sick and close it.

BN: This is Violet's?

SI: Violet's coffee shop. "How do you know they had a coffee shop?" He saw the newspaper and he went open, "Oh, why you buy this kind of dirty place?"

BN: And you said you kept working for Ala Moana part time?

SI: For a while I was stop, but when he opened the coffee shop, one day, I... I think I got hurt my finger, and I went to go the doctor. And that time, [inaudible] business association together, medical group, I went and joined that. But doesn't cover good. I said, "Oh, somebody going to come sick if I don't get this kind of insurance." No, no good. So that day, I went to the doctor, then I called the Ala Moana Hotel, the manager. "Tony, please don't take away my name. I want to come back to work, okay?" And I talked to the manager. "But please don't give me the full time because I have coffee shop." And he make it set for me, could work nighttime or... Saturday, Sunday you can give me eight hours, but other than that, evening only. Evening only that I will work. And sometime I finished two o'clock, I got to wake up four o'clock. Then I come home, take shower, sleep one o'clock, wake up four o'clock, oh my goodness. [Laughs] But I have to do it, in the mind, so I did manage that. But everybody cooperated with me so there was, I can do it.

BN: So all your children were helping out, too.

SI: Yeah, all cooperate. If not, I cannot do that. And that like this, and then my husband, he did retire. One day Janet, sister, said, "Mom, I cannot play the schedule." Okay, then, if buyer get, we're going to be sell. And after that we go looking for that buyer. Oh, that come fast. After that we sat in there. I told my husband, "You go work already, you go clean the yard, look at our yard, so dirty." He said, "No, I don't like yardwork, I better go to help George." This New Eagle Cafe. "No, I don't like yardwork, I better go help George." [Laughs] And he go work over there part time, for half day.

BN: What were the hours of Violet's?

SI: Oh, Violet's, we leave four o'clock in the morning, five o'clock, six o'clock, after clean up, sometimes... but those days, you know trap, grease trap? Clean that, we'd go home, reach home ten o'clock. Not every day, but at least once a week, they clean all the trap good, even that all stuck in there.

BN: It was open from early in the morning?

SI: Five o'clock in the morning.

BN: And then it closed at six p.m.?

SI: Yes, p.m.

BN: That seems very early.

SI: Early, oh, we take only early dinner. It was mostly breakfast.

BN: Right, breakfast and lunch.

SI: Yeah. If breakfast busy, so...

Off camera: That area did not seem to do too well with dinner.

BN: Uh-huh. Later dinner.

SI: No one was thinking about the dinner that time. But who was even over there, early dinner, they come in, so they did six o'clock.

BN: But most of the peak was breakfast and lunch.

SI: Think was, most of the point was breakfast. Breakfast so busy, sometime no more chair, outside waiting for the... because the breakfast turn over so fast, that everybody working.

BN: You're in a hurry, you need, you have to get someplace.

<End Segment 13> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.