A Visit to Ono Kine Grindz in Wauwatosa, Just Because All I Can Think About is Sarah Vowell's Visit to Boswell on Friday, March 9.

Today I went out to Wauwatosa to visit our friends at Ono Kine Grindz at 7215 West North Avenue. As I may have mentioned, they're co-sponsoring our event with Sarah Vowell on Friday, March 9 for Unfamiliar Fishes. 

We're hoping to have an assortment of cookies and other treats from their combination Hawaiian grocery and plate lunch restaurant. It fits together perfectly--Unfamiliar Fishes is a look at Hawaii and how the Puritans and the natives played off each other to create their unique culture.  As you know, Sarah Vowell's event is Friday, March 9, at Boswell. A $15 ticket gets you a copy of Unfamiliar Fishes and entry to the event. Seats are not guaranteed. The store will close at 6 pm to folk without tickets. And we're likely to sell out.

And why are we going to sell out? Because this is an amazing deal--tickets are less than the cost of the book alone. And just to make my point about how this is a perfect match, and maybe convince you that you need to buy your tickets to this event right now, here's Sarah Vowell talking about the importance of plate lunch to Hawaiian culture.

Davd and Guy started their business a few years ago, and have already won a reputation among several of my customers (and also booksellers) as a fave dining spot in the area. Entrees include laulau (steamed pork and butterfish in taro and leaf wrap), BBQ kalbi ribs, and huli huli chicken (house smoked with mango glaze). And Jason swears by the world famous CoCo Puffs.

Let me just say that my cosponsorship attempts with other area businesses have been touch and go. Most of them agree to get involved, but are honestly too busy to really contribute anything. I'm usually just happy to see a sign up (yes, there was one at Ono Kine Grindz) and a Facebook post. When someone acutally participates in an event, like the dynamic Margaret at the poptastic Hot Pop Boutique and Gallery in the Third Ward, it sort of makes my heart sing, but then I get panicky because I wonder if it was worth her time.

But the truth is that though I'd like these complimentary businesses to help get the word out about our events, mostly I just want a reason to feature them at Boswell. In a strange way, I think it's part of our mission to offer shout outs to other vibrant indie stores.

And that's what Ono Kine Grindz is--a vibrant indie store making the Milwaukee area a little bit better. So while you're at the Sarah Vowell event, say hit to Guy, and pick up one of their menus, and try a treat (while supplies last).

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The email newsletter went out! Usually this is all consuming for at least a day, but I admittedly used a lot of Stacie's copy and I also started way too early in the morning. Now I hold my breath until we find out if the typos are major or minor.