Posted on: Thursday, June 13, 2002

Shoppers say Iwilei is way to go

By Shayna Coleon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Shoppers stream into Costco's new store in Iwilei, which has a hearing aid center and in-house coffee roasting. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

It looked like Terry Kakazu was competing in an obstacle course as she skillfully wheeled her big red shopping cart out of the meat department and into the clogged main aisle of the Costco Wholesale that opened in Iwilei yesterday.

Kakazu, 41, of Punchbowl, had to maneuver around men in their fancy aloha shirts and grandmothers toting their grandkids who were ogling the fresh oxtail and steaks.

"This is crazy, yeah?" said Kakazu, co-owner of Paul and Terry's Place, a cocktail and karaoke bar. "But, it's worth it. Costco has a wide variety right at hand."

Kakazu was part of a crowd of at least 7,000 who visited the Iwilei store on its grand opening.

"We're rocking," said Robert Loomis, Iwilei's general manager. "We do know that in our company, this is what a successful grand opening looks like."

Last June, Costco Wholesale bought 12 acres at Dole Cannery from Castle & Cooke Properties Inc. for $31 million and began to build the 151,000-square-foot store and an 800-space parking lot.

With the opening of the store in Iwilei, the 120,000-square-foot Salt Lake Costco in Bougainville Industrial Park closed permanently yesterday.

The Salt Lake Costco, which opened in 1988, was the members-only retailer's first store in Hawai'i.

All 246 employees from Salt Lake Costco were transferred to the new store and 70 more people were hired, said Loomis. The merchandise will also be moved to the new store.

Shoppers can still taste the free samples and find the usual bulk items, but Iwilei Costco adds a hearing aid center, a coffee roasting station — where an employee will grind fresh Kona and Kaua'i coffee beans — and a seafood poke section that offers six varieties of the pupu.

The new store also has been fitted with an energy-saving air-conditioning system that can be found only in one other Costco, in Southern California, Loomis said.

"The original Costco was getting a little old and when we closed it, it was kind of sentimental," Loomis said. "But, we thought Iwilei was a better location, and we decided that the community deserved brand-new facilities with better service and more parking."

Tayshea Aiwohi, 29, of Kane'ohe, said that when Costco was at Salt Lake, she rarely used her membership so she canceled it.

"It's in a central location now," Aiwohi said as she stood in line to renew her membership card at the Iwilei Costco. "We can come over on the Likelike and end up right here."

Not everyone is happy. The closing at Salt Lake is seen as a threat to owners of small businesses that thrived on the customers brought into the area because Costco was there.

"We were attracted to this space because of Costco," said Tommy Silva, owner of T & T Tinting Specialist Inc., a car shop across from the defunct Costco.

"We fed off their overflow, and now that Costco is not here, those people might not come anymore," said Silva, who moved into the retail spot in 1989. "Another thing is that our other customers would have something to do for those two hours while we fix their cars, and now there's nothing."

To prepare for the Salt Lake Costco's closure, Silva opened a second shop on Ward Avenue a year ago.

"We want to still be in the public eye, so we made sure to get a street-front space," Silva said.

Mona Nakamura, owner of Camellia Junior, a restaurant next to Salt Lake Costco, said business was especially slow yesterday because many of her customers used to be Costco employees taking their lunch break.

Nakamura said that if business does not pick up, she will have to start thinking about closing.

"Oh, it was very quiet," Nakamura said. "No cars are even in the parking lot.

"You have to ask, 'How long is it going to last like this?' I have high rent and employees. I cannot fool around."