When we announced on August 22 that we would be closing our doors for an indefinite period of time, we were overwhelmed by the tremendous outpouring of support we received. From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU! We heard from many different people. Some were years-long loyal customers who were saddened by the news. Others were people who had never heard of us before, but who wanted to be a part of something that’s meaningful. 

Being part of something meaningful is important to us too. It’s why we decided to close our doors in the first place. Simply put, we felt that it was wrong for us to segregate our customers who have been there for us since day one. That’s why when the government mandate was signed, saying that all dine-in customers must show proof of vaccination, we knew what we had to do. 

On the one hand, it wasn’t an easy decision. We knew that if we stayed open and refused to comply (and treated every customer equally), the fines would be incredibly costly. We also knew that if we closed, we would lose a lot of business.

 On the other hand, the decision was easy. We knew what was right for us to do at that time. But that didn’t mean we took the decision lightly.

We discussed it with each other a lot.

We prayed a lot.

We cried a lot. 

So on August 22, we did something bold: We put a post on our Instagram that said exactly how we felt. And as we wrote in the beginning of this blog, we had a tremendous outpouring of support. But there was also some negative feedback. That wasn’t a surprise. We expected it. And we don’t blame them one bit. They were only doing what we did: boldly standing up for what we believe. 

The following months were not easy, but we were at peace with the whole situation, even though we made a bit of a stir. We thought a lot about our decision. And as we thought, a design came to us that represented the decision we had made. That was the birth of our “Be Bold” design. 

It’s a shirt with our name on it — Håfaloha — but not in the regular fun, cursive, island style. It’s a much more simple style, with a bold print and a bold underline. Just like how we made a bold decision to stand up for what we believe, we felt that our name had to make a bold stand on these shirts. 

When we closed our doors, we knew we would be missing out on a lot of business, and that our family would suffer financially. But we never put our trust in money. Every step of the way, God never failed to provide. He always gave us just enough, just enough, just enough. We knew that God was protecting us. So on our “Be Bold” design, that bold text and bold underline is encased in a simple box. For us, that box represents God’s protection. 

And like we said, when we made that announcement, it caused a bit of a stir. Suddenly, we had new fans. But, just as suddenly, we had opposition. But even if the world comes against you, as long as you know in your heart what is right, and you have the inner conviction that comes from God, he’s got your back. That’s why we put the words “Romans 8:31” on the back of the shirt. It’s a Bible verse that says: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” 

We took a stance, and we do not regret it.

And we encourage others to take stances. 

We stood up for what we believe in.

And we encourage others to stand up for what they believe in. 

We were ourselves.

And we encourage others to be themselves. 

We were bold.

And we encourage others to be bold. 

To us, that’s what “Be Bold” is all about. 

We know that anyone can be bold in their life, whether they are wearing our shirt or not! But we love this design, and we hope you will, too. We hope that if you wear this shirt, you’ll see the bold text and be reminded of how important it is to Be Bold!