This Beloved Kauaʻi Bookstore Has an Unlikely Story
A look back at Talk Story Bookstore—the westernmost bookstore in the country—as it approaches its 20th anniversary.
In 2002 Ed Justus took a chance.
At 18, the Virginia native visited Kaua‘i and fell so in love with the place that he extended his visit. He moved around the island—from Kalāheo to Kapa‘a to Hanapēpē—and paid rent during that time by scouring nearby garage sales for rare items and selling them on eBay. Later, a kindly couple he had gotten to know—Elsie and Tom Godby—offered him a free month’s rent in their Hanapēpē warehouse, where he could work on his budding business.
“I moved the eBay inventory into the space and it looked like a bookstore and curiosity shop,” Justus says. “So that’s what it became.”
When the month was over, he had made just enough money in eBay sales to cover another month’s rent at the warehouse or pay for housing. He couldn’t afford both.
“And so I had to decide on what to do,” Justus recalls. “And I went to the Hanapēpē Swinging Bridge and I’m just looking at the sky going, ‘Should I do this? Should I attempt the business, even though it means I’m going to sleep in the van to do this?’ And as I asked that question, a full double rainbow appeared in the sky and I said, if that’s not a sign, I don’t know what is.”
Ed Justus, owner.
Photo: Noah Lang/noahlangphotography.com
So Ed took a leap of faith and paid the next month’s rent at the warehouse and began sleeping in his tapa-patterned 1990 Plymouth Voyager, taking cold showers at Salt Pond Beach Park.
“I often recall this experience, doing everything in my power to get myself out of my homeless situation,” he says. “It always makes me feel grateful for the everyday comforts. Opportunities present themselves; it’s just up to us to act on them.”
Justus has long since moved his work out of the warehouse, which is now occupied by the Anahola Granola Co. And he moved out of his van, too, settling into his current space, the Talk Story Bookstore in the heart of Hanapēpē. He’s also married now; his wife, Yuriko, is a full-time artist whose work is available for purchase at the shop. And they have a cat, Natalie, who they endearingly refer to as “The New Boss”; she monitors the store from behind the checkout stand and even has her own Instagram account. (The owners’ previous cat, Celeste, the original boss, passed away in 2022.) This November marks the shop’s 20th anniversary at this location.
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The building is one of the relics of a town long gone. What was once called Yoshiura’s General Store—or the Red Store, for its bright red facade—is now a haven for book lovers. Here, you’ll find the latest releases, as well as books on Hawaiian history and nature and so much more: fiction, poetry, old cookbooks, comics, vinyl records, dime-store novels, music sheets, manga comics, video games. As a nod to its origins, the store’s interior retains the red paint of the old store. But the real magical link to the past is what’s housed within these walls.
The bookstore celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
Photo: Noah Lang/noahlangphotography.com
“I think it’s fascinating how many times people come into the store and they find some obscure book that happens to be that niche interest of theirs and they’re like, ‘I’ve been looking for this for years and I never expected to find it at Talk Story Bookstore, the westernmost bookstore in the United States.’ … I’m like, well, we are a vortex in the Pacific, I guess,” Justus says.
The hollow wooden floor sinks slightly, bending and creaking as you wander the aisles of the 1,500-square-foot space. You have to squeeze past other customers, around corners, down narrow corridors of obscura and over items that others left behind in exchange for store credit. “It’s fascinating, what ends up here,” Justus says. “People bring all sorts of stuff in.”
You never know what you’ll find. A black-and-white comic book drawn by an old high school classmate? Yes. An issue of Texas Rangers from April 1962? It’s there. A music sheet of Belgian pianist Clément Doucet’s jazz compositions? Sure. Breadfruit recipes, a short-story collection about Kaua‘i’s feral chickens and Charlie Chan paperbacks loosely based on Honolulu Detective Chang Apana? Got those, too.
You can find everything from latest releases to old comic books.
Photo: Noah Lang/noahlangphotography.com
All of it, Justus says, makes for happy customers. “You know, they’re thrilled with what they’re buying. It puts a smile on their face. I mean, I can’t beat it because it’s a great, rewarding feeling. Now that we’re adding happiness to someone’s life, that’s a privilege.”
And there’s something to this space that spans the rift created by technology. You remember what it was like to experience relationships with the things you’ve purchased. You forage, hunt and seek, and when you find what you’re looking for, it takes up an actual physical space and serves as a reminder of your journey. There is a quiet sense of discovery when you peruse the shelves, as a reader, traveler or visitor. Discovery is what you’re after.
“Humans are foragers. And I think it’s a rewarding experience discovering something that we didn’t know we were looking for,” Justus says. “It’s a part of the human experience.”
Talk Story Bookstore, 3785 Hanapēpē Road, Hanapēpē, (808) 335-6469, @talk_story_bookstore
This story was originally published in our Spring 2024 issue. Buy a copy here.
