Honolulu Weekly

Manifest / Brandon Reid is a lucky guy. He says he doesn’t really know how or why good things happen to him, but they do. He might know he’s going to win that grand raffle prize or be chosen for a special task. Or get to be on Wheel of Fortune. Or win a lead role in a film by randomly telling a bar customer that he acts on the side (though without knowing why he said he acted in the first place). But you can’t hate him because he’s so nice. With a air of naiveté that isn’t quite what it seems to be, Reid harbors an instinct that sets him on a path to be a likable entrepreneur with vision and hopeful determination. He can’t help it.

One unlucky thing that has happened to Reid: Having gone bankrupt almost a decade ago in pursuit of an ultimately failed invention. But connecting the dots of his life to his positive path, Reid said, “If I hadn’t gone bankrupt, I wouldn’t have started bartending, getting jobs where I had to meet people. Since high school I feel like I’ve been on this path in being in situations where I’m comfortable talking to strangers or on camera.”

This would lead to Reid’s vision for The Manifest, his new Hotel Street day-and-nightspot, the seed of which was born six years ago.

“I was surrounded by a lot of creative people,” said the former drummer for Scary Areolas and other local bands. “It seems obvious now, but I wanted a place where artists could hang out, drink coffee and have a watering hole.” Years later, as a bartender at Bar 35, Reid recalled “being the kid who stared out the window” at the vacant spot across the street that was to be Manifest. “It spoke to me. It was haunting,” said Reid.

The 27-year-old was able to secure a Small Business Administration loan from the federal government to help make his vision become a reality, a feat Reid thought would be impossible due his bankruptcy. But, ever lucky, SBA’s Kim Hite directed Reid to a small business mentor, Carol Kim at the Small Business Development Center. Then landlord Christy Vicari-Coito took him under her wing. Even while writing his business proposal, Reid said he “felt like an apostle,” with words spilling out for a solid plan, even without having run a bar before.

With a successful soft opening of the coffee joint-slash-bar in August (Manifest seems to be thriving even with just coffee and food–sans alcohol), The Manifest promises to be a venue with a vibe different enough to enrich the diversity of the neighborhood’s night (and day) life.

The exposed brick of the old Chinatown building, cement bar and local art on the wall may be reminiscent of other bars on the block, but that’s where the similarity ends. The high ceilings, black couches and soon-to-be glass-ceilinged back (“It will look like a waterfall when it’s raining,” said Reid), track lighting and an almost delicate cement bar give a good balance of smart minimalist design and inclusiveness. The place isn’t too big, yet not uncomfortably intimate. One is aware of one’s surroundings–neither intimidated by nor too isolated from them.

The Manifest joins a slew of new and forthcoming Chinatown businesses (mostly coffee-related) determined to open on the weekend days, a much wished-for trend that should help the area grow. Aside from daytime hours, Reid will offer free WiFi and wraps, desserts and bagels and lox from Hole in the Wall, encouraging people to not only frequent the venue, but to stay. Artists, students and neighborhood residents alike can converge for meetings of the minds. Employing Char Moe from rRed Elephant as the coffee shop-esque day manager and Justin Park as the night bar manager, Reid is confident of his employees, who are experienced in the industry, and are his friends, as well.

“I’m willing to help anyone else,” said Reid of other potential entrepreneurs. “Maybe this will have a ripple effect” in Honolulu, encouraging growth and fulfilling goals of young people during a trying time.

It’s a jolt to exit the womblike atmosphere of Manifest in the middle of the day. It’s a place you don’t want to leave. Even if you only intended to swing by for a cup of coffee before work, the comfortable ambience doesn’t let you go. Reid said he created “exactly what [he] imagined.” You are in his world of instinctively guided revelations.

Having just this week received its liquor license, Manifest can go meet the rest of its destiny. With a steady upward trend in customers and reputation, Reid said, “There’s no option to fail.”