Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

What does it take to run a business in Honolulu? With escalating costs, pricey real estate and a shortage of workers, the answer is a lot. But it’s not just funding and staff that’s needed. Entrepreneurs must be creative, ​​ultra-resilient, good at solving problems and willing to put in long hours.

It seems like every month, we hear about restaurants, stores and long-standing mom-and-pops closing.

We’re lucky we have lots of people like that because our island’s businesses make Hawai‘i Hawai‘i. They reflect our lifestyle, history, culture and values. Imagine O‘ahu depleted of them, and we would be spending our money mostly at chains and franchises owned by entities outside the state. 

But local businesses are struggling. It seems like every month, we hear about restaurants, stores and long-standing mom-and-pops closing. For many, the tipping point is at lease renewal, when rates are raised and owners have to decide whether to continue on or close their doors. 

What can we do as residents and for those of us in media?  

Support, bolster and patronize them. 

Our annual Best of HONOLULU issue is one way we show up for ​​local businesses. By spotlighting this year’s winners, we hope readers learn about things that intrigue them, then go out and support these standout eateries, services, shops and more. The vast majority of the highlighted businesses are locally owned, and even the ones that aren’t uphold our state by hiring local people. 

To complete the write-ups, our editorial team spent a lot of time tasting, trying, visiting and experiencing both what our readers said are their favorite restaurants, stores, wellness outlets and more, and what we love. Even though many of our readers picks have been around for years, we returned to them to see what’s new or what remains worthy.

More than 4,000 ballots were cast this year for Best of HONOLULU, and another 400 for Best of HONOLULU Family awards. Our readers chose their favorite bagels, beer, aloha attire, place to celebrate an anniversary and picks in 90 more categories, plus 43 geared toward families. Our editorial team added more picks, resulting in a final list of 298 winners and finalists in 161 categories across both HONOLULU and HONOLULU Family. 

This year, we decided to expand our Best of HONOLULU coverage to allow for more write-ups of both reader selections and editor picks. We highlighted beloved businesses to help them survive and thrive—and we hope this issue motivates you to try something new or return to a place you love, whether it made our list or not. It all matters.  

On Our Cover

This issue’s cover features multiple Best of HONOLULU winners. The photo was taken at Daily Whisk Matcha (Best Matcha Drink), and we tapped Brooke Protacio—an instructor at Heated (voted Best Fitness Studio–not including Pilates or yoga)—as our model. She’s wearing a dress from Manuheali‘i (Best Aloha Attire) and necklace from Maui Divers Jewelry (Best Jewelry Store).

Hair and makeup: Risa Hoshino. Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino.