Windward Mall — Local services in Oʻahu

I actually like and very much enjoy the mall, but have a major issue with the small kid play area right in front of Big City Diner. It would be fine if parents were responsible and only brought or allowed kids in that were not over the height requirement, but of course you cannot rely on adults to police themselves in this day and age. From what I see the parents of larger kids who don't care about the rules just drop their kids off there while they shop, or are oblivious to what's going on with there face buried in their smart phones. If I bring my not yet 2 year old son into the enclosed area, I then have to stay 5 feet behind him and hope that I can protect him from the much bigger, oversized kids running at high speed and jumping from one display to another, or rolling around on the floor, when they should not even be in there in the first place! No mall employees or security guards are enforcing the kid size rule at all. This needs to be enforced! A mall employee needs to be there at entrance to make sure only kids that are at max height requirement should enter. If no one is available, then it should roped off until someone is. Not only is it a safety hazard for the small kids playing in the same area as oversized rambunctious kids, but I would think it is a liability issue for the mall. If a smaller kid gets seriously injured or worse as a result of larger kid running into or banging into them, I would think that is grounds for a lawsuit. Until I know this is being addressed, I think I may have to just avoid the play area for fear of my...

It's definitely been a while since I've been to Winward Mall. Usually, I'm stuck in town and stick to places like Kahala mall or Ala Moana. Today, my dad and I were planning on getting together and wanted to get some zucchini from hotdog on a stick, which is located in the mall. So that's what drew us to this side of the island.

First things first, there is a decent amount of construction, and the mall has definitely gotten a well needed facelift since the last time I was here. So that's a huge plus. The only thing that that's a little hard is that parking is limited because of all the construction going on.

Also, to no fault of the mall, we were definitely a little bummed when we got to the food court, and figured out that hot dog stick was closed because of distribution chain issues. Luckily, there are still a ton of good places to eat out in the mall

I guess it really has been a long time since I've last been here because there are literally a ton of new places that I haven't even heard of before. There's a fun factory next to the old pet store, the bakery got replaced by a salad shop, there's a ton of local/small businesses focused on Island themed attire, and their are still my go to spots like the Gyu Kaku or H&T burgers.

If you're on the fence spot visiting this mall, don't be. There's something for everyone to try and do here. I don't know if I'd regularly make the truck all the way from town just because I'm not really a fan of driving. But if I'm already in the area, I don't see a reason why I...

Our latest day trip to The Gathering Place included a stop here as we were wanting to try the new location of Waiahole Poi Factory. Needless to say, they were sold out of kalua pig at lunchtime, so we skipped them and browsed around instead.

The 2-level, enclosed mall opened in 1982 and looks like its been freshened up here and there on the inside. Shaped like a “Y”, each wing houses anchor tenants at the ends, with shops on both levels throughout. The mall was very congested as it was holiday shopping season and a keiki hula show was happening too.

STORES: I wanted to check out their Macy’s but it was shuttered! Target, Ross and a 10-screen Regal Cinemas are the lone surviving anchors. The rest of the tenants are a mix of local businesses & services, and a handful of national retailers.

FOOD COURT: Located on the first level, the small list of eateries is good, offering a nice variety of fast casual dining. Seating is at a premium though.

RESTAURANTS: Not too shabby either! You definitely don’t need to leave the area to enjoy grub found on the other side of the mountains. Highlights include Big City Diner, Buffalo Wild Wings, Gyu Kaku Japanese BBQ, Hawaii Pot Shabu Shabu, Kickin Kajun, Pieology and Ruby Tuesday.

PARKING: There’s a small covered area on the west end but the majority is uncovered asphalt that surrounds the mall.

OVERALL: Suitable mall for the twin towns of...