When we visited one of the islands in Hawaii in 2007, we came across a “general store”. It was very local and community-based, which we rarely saw in Los Angeles.

Nowadays with big chain stores spread in the cities, you can get decent variety of products with decent service anywhere you go.

But when we walked into the small “general store” we felt a very friendly, established presence in its local community. In the “general store”, their products were what was minimum required in daily life. Less variety of what big chain stores carried. But we felt that was just enough.

At “TGS / Tortoise General Store”, based on Tortoise’ basic philosophy, we would like to introduce wider, more “general” service, not just products.

We like to create a “General Store” that may not be “cool” but a place where it feels familiar, or be unique in its own way.

Keiko and Taku Shinomoto   August, 2008