Okazuyas are apart of the feeling of home to islanders when they walk into the nearby Okazuya shop where they use to be a regular and get served more or less and a preference of what they like or don’t like. While many Okazuya have closed there are a few that are still open that have taken that old spirit and have been using new methods to stay afloat. Specialized commercial equipment for faster production, additional heating tables to keep food for longer, and dedicated stations for make to order freshness.
Okazuyas have survived the old plantations with minimal ingredients, the second world war and adapted to canned goods, and persisted to the modern day. It may seem the same as Japanese at first, but it is very different from the Japan mainland with its odd selections of hot dog sushi, canned tuna mayonnaise and furikake with takuan, and famous spam musubi. All which would be seen as Hawaiian invented concoctions of regional sushi if shown to a resident of Japan. The dishes out of these eras that are delicious have become timeless and those that are not as delicious have disappeared from time. Hawaii Okazuya have a strong past, but the modern day struggle is all too real. Many Okazuya have survived in the Oahu Kalihi area as well as other small pockets, here and there, but not have expanded much. The modern challenges are celebrating the: marinated boiled, deep fried foods, canned foods, traditional foods, and starchy delights. It also requires the business to stay competitive, have limited efficient menus, and to train and trust workers from outside the family. To stay competitive the business has to ward off Invaders of globalized food establishments. This would be in the comparisons of what Hawaii has to offer versus the national eateries and if they lose their presence they could shrivel up and disappear or build a growing presence with adapting and fight them off dish by dish. This would allow them to stand their ground battle for food territories. On the American side there are restaurants that have oily and crispy deep fried foods, signature sides that feature starches along greens and beans, and a flavorful sauce selections. With some food places like American Fried Chicken Fast-Food Restaurants. They have come in large numbers and made islanders gain a taste for a variety of fried chicken that is marinated, some spicy, and some extra crispy. The Japanese restaurants feature fried foods as well, cold tossed salads, sushi musubis, and hearty soups filled with many things. Many of businesses have come from Japan with few locally owned. These would be places like Japanese Kaiten Sushi, Bento Shops, and Musubis at Convenient Stores. The menus on Okazuya have small rules, so having many things that don't work is a definite possibility. Being able to make anything at home can quickly turn into a mess of plenty of dishes that don’t go well together and are hard to make if they don’t share ingredients. The reason its important is that it is common to have so many pieces that make a lot of labor and isn’t the fastest way to do things. But, that's apart of the feeling picking out the foods from an Okazuya. The lack of workers comes from the lack of handing over the work to non family members. It has become a time where there are so many people who don’t know each other on the islands that it is difficult for the connection of the older days when everyone knew one another from the plantations. The steps needed to be taken is having family trust others into their family work force and be treated as ohana if they care for the family and the business. Redefining the idea of what a Okazuya is was important to move with the times and a few discussed ideas that have been amongst the younger generation is in stations and packaging. Creating make to order musubis and sushi on a heating table, multiple rice insulated containers, and fridge behind for an even larger variety to be made fresh to order. Keeping catering, but adding on the go family buckets and sushi trays for parents to escape a kitchen dinner. Even the idea to add the forbidden sit down and eat area to the establishment. Some say not okay and that everything has to be premade only, some think it's an okay idea. While the argument of old ways and the new ways of the establishment “Okazuya” it will forever continue to be debated what keeps the old spirit while existing with a new way. Slowly making the Okazuya a family destination with that homely feel for excited hungry customers filled with aloha that go on their merry way with a hands full of plentiful food.
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