Starbucks Hawaii hopes to open their second shop on Kaua‘i this fall in Waipouli’s Kaua‘i Village shopping center. But Starbucks management in Honolulu said that, while they’ve been negotiating with the Kaua‘i Village management, a contract has not yet been
Starbucks Hawaii hopes to open their second shop on Kaua‘i this fall in Waipouli’s Kaua‘i Village shopping center.
But Starbucks management in Honolulu said that, while they’ve been negotiating with the Kaua‘i Village management, a contract has not yet been finalized.
“The lease hasn’t been executed yet,” said Greg Meier, president of Coffee Partners Hawaii, which does business as Starbucks Hawaii. “Until it’s a done deal, it’s not a done deal.”
One of the reasons it might not be a “done deal” is that the Hanalei Bay Coffee Cafe in Kaua‘i Village allegedly signed an “exclusive” agreement to serve coffee in the mall, according to Tom Cullen, Hanalei Bay Coffee Cafe manager.
“We’re supposed to have the exclusive on coffee sales,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. We might have to leave.”
Before you get weepy over yet another local shop being driven out by a large corporation, you should know that Hanalei Bay Coffee Cafe’s main reason for existence is not to sell coffee, but to sell timeshares.
“The main goal isn’t making coffee,” Cullen admitted. “We sell timeshares.”
The coffee shop is owned by Quintus Resorts, LLC, of Genoa, Nevada, developers of Hanalei Bay Resorts. Their coffee shop doubles as a place to pitch their timeshares.
“No one else on the island was doing it,” Cullen said. “It’s worked out great for us.”
If things go as planned, Meier said, the new Starbucks/Jamba Juice combo will open by December.
Even if the Village location falls through, Starbucks will likely locate somewhere in the burgeoning Kapa‘a area, he said.
“Kapa‘a is clearly a target for us,” Meier said.
Meanwhile, Kapa‘a could soon boast the lastest Starbucks Coffee and Jamba Juice — a beverage combo company executives say is not just a coffee and juice shop, but a “destination.”