PO‘IPU — Majorie De Souza is picturing a large “Tree of Giving” in the showroom of her shop. She and her husband Renato own the Palm Palm shop at the Kukui‘ula Shopping Village. De Souza said they are launching their
PO‘IPU — Majorie De Souza is picturing a large “Tree of Giving” in the showroom of her shop.
She and her husband Renato own the Palm Palm shop at the Kukui‘ula Shopping Village. De Souza said they are launching their holiday campaign by offering a 15 percent discount to shoppers who bring in canned goods and non-perishable food items.
When people come in with a donation for the food drive, they will use their contributions to build a large Christmas tree that will take the place of the mannequin in the store window.
“The holidays are here and the economy is not so good, so we’re hoping to help some of the people have a little bit more,” De Souza said. “The food drive items will go to the Hale Ho‘omalu center in Kapa‘a, and for each donation, we will personally contribute a dollar toward the Child and Family Services for their holiday needs.”
De Souza said she is a Guilda member of CFS along with Carol Kahn and Mickey Evslin.
“The Guilda was started to try and help the CFS clients,” De Souza said. “Every year during the holidays, there is a need for gifts and other items to help the children that are under the CFS umbrella.”
Michelle Panoke, during the kickoff for the Kaua‘i Food Bank Holiday Food and Fund Drive, said Hale Ho‘omalu center is one of the busier pantries, feeding about 250 people during its food distributions.
But De Souza is not alone in creating excitement because Palm Palm and Bungalow 9, owned by Lisa and Mark Legget, have already launched a First Friday get-together with music on the mall.
“This Friday we’re going to have live music, but it’s just an opportunity for people to get together after work, have some fun and enjoy some small pupu,” De Souza said. “Little by little, this place is coming together. Quiksilver opened last week, and they are interested in this party thing too.”
Jusefine Alop said the new Lappert’s shop is cool with its air conditioning.
Quiksilver, owned and operated by the Miura family who was honored Wednesday by the Kaua‘i County Council for 100 years of doing business on Kaua‘i, celebrated that event by opening the doors to its newest store at the Kukui‘ula Shopping Village.
From its roots of selling manju, senbei and mochi, Quiksilver joins two retail stores at the Kukui Grove Center and the plantation era building that is now the Deja Vu Surf Outlet in Kapa‘a.
The Quiksilver store is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and is located across the walkway from Lappert’s which celebrated its soft opening at the Kukui‘ula Shopping Village on Saturday.
“The shop in Old Koloa Town is now closed,” said Lappert’s manager Lea Tanigawa. “We’re now open here from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.”
To mark the celebration of the new store, Tanigawa said Lappert’s is now offering gelato made in its Hanapepe factory.
The gelato joins Lappert’s familiar offerings of coffee and espresso, pastries, cookies, gifts and ice cream. Tanigawa said they are planning on expanding the coffee offerings with varieties of organic coffees and some of the other items customers have been asking for.
The excitement was not limited to the South Shore, however, as late Saturday night, vestige of the former Star Market sign peeked through the repainting that was covered with a temporary sign announcing Times Supermarket.
QSI, Times’ parent company, bought Star’s seven stores and are rebranding them as Times Supermarkets, according to an article in the Pacific Business News in early July.
Star Markets has four stores on O‘ahu, two on Maui and one on Kaua‘i.
With the acquisition of Star, Times becomes the third largest supermarket chain in the state with 17 stores on three islands with more than 1,600 employees.
•Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
