Then & Now | Giovanni’s Shrimp Trunk

Then: 2008

Now-ish: 2015

Then

Now

I don’t know why I am so compelled to write Then & Now posts. Probably the same reason why we keep returning to the same places, why I take a billion photos, and why I keep a blog. Something inside of me needs to look back, compare, and remember. Am I looking for change, like a spot the difference puzzles, or am I looking for similarities, a touch stone to the past?

Whatever the case, since our last trip to Hawaii in 2008 the garlic shrimp truck industry, and food truck business in general, blew up in the North Shore. We knew there were other shrimp trucks, possibly even ‘better’ shrimp trucks, but none of those places were Giovanni’s. It had to be Giovanni’s.

Then

Now

Giovanni’s, like a lot of the North Shore, was a bit more built up than we remembered. In addition to a hand full of picnic tables, patrons could now sit under an large wooden pavilion. Despite the additional seating options, we somehow still ended up unintentionally sitting at practically the exact same spot where we ate our first plate of garlic shrimp.

There were other similarities beyond where we chose to sit. The shrimp truck with all the signatures parked in practically in the same spot. Chickens roamed around the grounds, except when did the chickens start liking shrimp? Did they always hang out in the trees? And Sly wore a blue floral shirt, just like he did seven years prior. Even with the all the new food stalls and covered seating, Giovanni’s felt pretty much the same. Same floral print paper plates, same menu, and same super garlicky shrimp.