Ward Centre opened in 1982 and closed on June 30, 2026, after more than four decades on Auahi Street. As of Aloha State Daily's October 19 update, demolition is underway and expected to wrap up early next year. The building is coming down, and the tenants have mostly settled into new places. Sorting the new addresses shows a clear split.
The bagels, ramen, dog grooming, barre classes and haircuts mostly reopened within walking distance of the old site. Many of the specialty shops, like the T-shirts, Hawaiian books, kids' play space and boutique jewelry, landed in Waikele, Kalihi, Kapolei or downtown. Some went online or haven't reopened. If you went to Ward Centre for weekly errands, you can still get them done nearby. If you went there to browse, it's a different trip now.
The weekly stops moved a few blocks
These are the former tenants that reopened inside Kakaʻako or right at its edge, with their addresses.
- Tali's Bagels & Schmear, 1052 Waimanu St. Tali's soft-opened on Friday, August 21, inside OurSpace, a new artist co-working and gallery venue on Waimanu Street. Owner Talia Bongolan-Schwartz told Aloha State Daily that the space suits takeout but also has seating. The OG NYC bagel is still on the menu, along with new deli-style items like hot pastrami, and the shop's website now lists the Waimanu address and hours.
- Kamitoku Ramen, South Shore Market, 1170 Auahi St. After about five years at Ward Centre, Kamitoku soft-opened in the former Scratch Kitchen & Meatery space, according to Aloha State Daily. The beef bone broth ramen made the move, and the menu added wild oxtail soup and wagyu rib-eye katsu bowls. The seabura ramen is listed at $22.50. Ward Village's directory has the Auahi Street address.
- Johnny's Dog Spa Hawaiʻi, 320 Ward Ave. The groomer moved to Ward's West Village, across from the former ʻOhana Hale.
- Sweat + Soul, 320 Ward Ave. The barre studio moved to the same West Village address.
- Paul Brown Salons, 1601 Kapiʻolani Blvd., Suite 100. The salon reopened July 1 inside Style Loft on the building's ground floor.
- Mian & Bao, 808 Sheridan St., #209. In July, the restaurant merged with its sister restaurant, Chengdu Taste, at 808 Center.
Kamitoku, Johnny's and Sweat + Soul are the three tenants that Aloha State Daily named as moving within Ward Village itself. Count Tali's on Waimanu, Paul Brown on Kapiʻolani and Chengdu Taste on Sheridan, and every one of these regular stops is still in the same part of town. If you used to grab a bagel and pick up the dog in one Saturday loop, you can still do both on Ward Avenue and the streets around it.
Ward Centre's coffee went in two directions. Aliʻi Coffee closed its Ward shop and now runs locations in Waikīkī and on the ground floor of Ala Moana Center, in the old Honolulu Bistro space. Ala Moana Center is still close by. Try Coffee is covered in the section below.
Most of the specialty shops left the neighborhood
The retail tenants mostly spread farther out. Here's where the ones with confirmed new addresses ended up, based on HONOLULU Magazine's July 8 tracker.
| Former Ward Centre tenant | What it is | Where it is now |
|---|---|---|
| Crazy Shirts | Hawaiʻi-inspired apparel | Waikele Premium Outlets, 94-798 Lumiaina St., Suite 408 |
| Nā Mea Hawaiʻi | Hawaiian books, gifts, art and locally made goods | Inside Bishop Museum, 1525 Bernice St., Kalihi |
| Kids City Adventure | Family play space | Kapolei location only, 480 Kamokila Blvd. |
| Studio the Vibe | Photography studio | 620 Dillingham Blvd., Kalihi |
| Chong Qing Hot Pot | Hot pot restaurant | Waikīkī location, 1778 Ala Moana Blvd., 2nd Floor |
| Jewelry Plus | Jewelry | Announced plans to reopen in August at 700 Bishop St., Suite 114, Downtown |
Some other tenants dropped their storefronts altogether. Blue Bird Jewelry now sells only at pop-ups and events, and Taj Clubhouse closed its physical store to sell online. The Blume Ruhm website says the shop is "taking a brief pause." As of HONOLULU Magazine's July update, Muʻumuʻu Library & Kīpuka, Noa Noa and BoxJelly had not announced new homes. Noa Noa's Waikīkī store at 226 Lewers St. is still open.
Picking up a Crazy Shirts gift or browsing Nā Mea's shelves used to be a short walk from Ward Avenue. Now it means a drive out to Waikele or Kalihi.
Why some moves took longer
When Ward Centre closed, Try Coffee was serving out of the BoxJelly co-working space. Owner TK Yamada told KHON2 in late June that he was still looking for a new home:
"Right now we're looking for stand-alone spots, and that price tag is crazy."
In the same KHON2 report, Mike Hamasu, consulting and research director at Colliers Hawaii, said landlords are facing higher costs too, from security and maintenance to property taxes, electricity and insurance. He added that shopping centers have shifted over the years toward restaurants, fitness studios and activities as shopping habits have changed. That helps explain the split. Ramen, barre classes and dog grooming are the kinds of businesses Hamasu says shopping centers now favor, and those are the tenants that found space nearby. The apparel, book and gift shops mostly went farther.
Try Coffee's website still offers its shop and subscription. Its subscription program kept running through the move, according to HONOLULU Magazine.
What goes up where Ward Centre stood
Hawaii News Now reported demolition underway by August 31, two months after the tenants moved out. Howard Hughes Communities broke ground on September 28 for two residential towers on the site. ʻIlima Ward Village will rise 33 stories with 148 homes, and Melia Ward Village will rise 35 stories with 221 residences. Together they'll add about 20,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial and retail space, along with landscaped walkways linking the IBM Building to Ka Lei Park. Robert A.M. Stern Architects designed both towers, drawing on early 20th-century Honolulu landmarks like the Honolulu Museum of Art and the Dillingham Transportation Center. Hawaiʻi Public Radio reported that the new Ward Village was expected to be complete in 2030.
That 20,000 square feet of storefront space is a few years off. Until it opens, the walking-distance stops listed above are what's left of Ward Centre nearby.
A block away, the streets have already changed. Halekauwila Street used to stop on the ʻEwa side of Ward Avenue. It now continues through the former GEM store site at 333 Ward Ave., which became Sports Authority and later ʻOhana Hale Marketplace. DeSoto Brown covered the history in his September column for Aloha State Daily. Johnny's Dog Spa and Sweat + Soul are now across from that old ʻOhana Hale site, at 320 Ward Ave.
The neighborhood calendar is still running nearby. Ward Village lists First Saturday at Kōʻula Shops on Auahi Street for Saturday, November 7, with a Holey Grail Donuts treat and StretchLab offers starting at 1 p.m. while supplies last. A December 5 date follows. Its Holiday Celebration is listed for Saturday, December 12, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Victoria Ward Park Mauka, with complimentary hot cocoa, holiday treats, music and activities while supplies last. Kamitoku's bowls at South Shore Market are a short walk from both.
The Ward Centre block will look different every few months between now and 2030. If you want to know how construction like this could affect your own Kakaʻako home, whether you're staying put, planning a sale or watching the market, Sue's HI Homes can walk you through the Kakaʻako & Urban Honolulu neighborhood block by block, in English or Korean. Schedule Your Free Consultation.
