WAIPOULI — Fresh flower lei and lunch greeted the employees of the Bodacious ‘ohana, last week when they reported to work. “Seven-seven! That’s when it started,” Mary Lou Mendes, owner of the original Bodacious store said during the festivities celebrating
WAIPOULI — Fresh flower lei and lunch greeted the employees of the Bodacious ‘ohana, last week when they reported to work.
“Seven-seven! That’s when it started,” Mary Lou Mendes, owner of the original Bodacious store said during the festivities celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their little shop in the Coconut Marketplace.
“It’s pretty awesome. For a woman to be in business for that long, I think it’s pretty awesome.”
Stoked by the winds of Hurricane ‘Iniki, the embers of Mendes’ dream of a store burst into flame in 1995 after she was laid off by the marketing firm that she was working for until the hurricane struck.
In the aftermath of the destruction, Mendes said she kept her real estate company going for a while, but “I always had my eye on that spot in the Coconut Marketplace.”
“There has always been a need for plus sizes,” Mendes explained. “And, it had to be in the (Coconut) Marketplace.”
Flanked by two of her longtime acquaintances, Beverly Boiser and Gail Nobriga, Mendes took the plunge, opening her first shop on the makai side of the shopping complex.
Ten years later, Mendes is looking over the new paint job of their latest acquisition that brings her offering to a full family offering.
Island Surf is the latest addition to the Mendes ‘ohana of shops which currently number six, her circle of employees now number 43, all of which she treats like family.
Anela Patterson, whom Mendes got to know from the Golden Nugget, is now her administrative assistant, fielding calls from employees within the circle of her six shops, all located in the Coconut Marketplace.
“Bodacious had plus sizes,” Mendes explained the growth of her business. “Bodacious Petite through Plus opened in 1997.”
“In between, we had temporary shops at Kukui Grove Shopping Center during the holiday season, and in 1997, we opened a Bodacious Outlet shop,” she said. “But, that was only temporary.”
In 1999, the clothing venture took a departure into gifts with the opening of their Jungle Rain, with fashion interwoven into the offering of gifts and toys. In 2000, Mendes ventured into the high end gift market with the acquisition of The Golden Nugget which was relocated from its original kiosk location to one of the “inline shops.”
This took place in 2003 with The Golden Nugget getting a facelift in the process of relocating.
Work started on building out Island Fever which took over the space once occupied by the Whalers General Store who relocated into the space left vacant by the departure of Liberty House.
Island Fever added a variety of fine gift items as well as home decor to the Mendes’ offering, and on the 10th anniversary of her original shop, she explained how a Taba piece (“He has relatives in Kalaheo”) that she really liked got sold.
“It was a nice anniversary day,” she said. “That vase had turtles and fish on it, and I really liked it.”
Mendes’ love of sea life is reflected in the interweaving of metal sea life sculptures that link each of the six stores.
That metal look is further reflected in the exterior treatment of the Jungle Rain shop which features a patina treatment that complements their offerings.
With the acquisition of Island Surf, Mendes said they now have a family offering with the Island Surf adding the junior sizes as well as popular surf fashions.
During the renovation of the shop’s original location, Mendes said things are still operational as she moved the shop’s offerings into a space formerly occupied by the Happy Kauaian.
“It’s slamming,” she said, unseen gears whirring in her mind as she surveyed the ongoing work.
But, perhaps the single most important facet of her 10-year anniversary is that Mendes now has an office located in the back of Island Fever.
“We moved in two weeks, ago,” she announced proudly. The tiny cubicle wedged between rows of shipping cartons at the back of Jungle Rain has been replaced by real walls, real cabinets, and a mini kitchen where employees can prepare quick lunches or snacks.
“Big girls, little girls. Beauty comes in all sizes,” said Mendes. This is the trust of her marketing as she said the introduction of a television commercial on the visitor channel has done wonders to help her shopper traffic.
Mendes, who worked at The Garden Island newspaper for several years before entering the marketing field, remembers starting at the newspaper as a delivery person before “moving into the office” where she worked in advertising under then supervisor David Noda.
The addition of stores to enhance the whole family has also helped her, and she continues to utilize this approach with her employees.
“We all do everything,” she said. “From buying to selling, We do it all.”
Her pride in her employees overflows as she notes that her nieces, Jessica Gutierrez, formerly Mendes, relocating back here from O‘ahu, are employed within the family of stores as is the mayor’s daughter who is enjoying her third year of summer employment.
“The employees are always excited,” Gutierrez said. “What’s not to like?”
“Keep it simple,” Mendes said. “It’s just like home. Gotta have the basics — eggs, milk, and bread.”
