PUHI — Loyal customer support shone brighter than the morning sun Wednesday morning in the area of Puhi Road’s intersection with Kaumuali‘i Highway. Merchants in the area where construction is taking place agree on their appreciation of loyal customers and
PUHI — Loyal customer support shone brighter than the morning sun Wednesday morning in the area of Puhi Road’s intersection with Kaumuali‘i Highway.
Merchants in the area where construction is taking place agree on their appreciation of loyal customers and the support they provide during the construction period.
“Since the construction crews moved into this area in March, business has dropped off dramatically,” said Deann Sakaguchi, manager of Stan’s Shell gas station in Puhi. “We’ve pretty much lost all our visitor traffic and it’s our loyal customers who are adjusting to this construction who are keeping us going.”
Tuesday was the first day when outbound lanes from Puhi Road onto Kaumuali‘i Highway went into effect, creating traffic concerns which reached as far as Kaneka Street. The traffic pattern is expected to remain in effect until June 16, according to signboards situated along the affected roads.
“Before the closure, cars would be stacked as far down as the length of Puhi Park,” said Derek Drenske, who with his wife Aika, own and operate Hanalima Baking in the Puhi Plaza Village, across from the Shell station. “We’re open for breakfast and lunch, but yesterday, there were no cars.”
The road closure includes not only the outbound lane of Puhi Road, but further down on Leleiona Street, a “No Thru Traffic” Road Closure sign is in place with a “Detour” sign pointing the way to Kaneka Street.
“Tourists turn in here thinking they can access the gas station, but once on Puhi Road, they panic because the entrance to the gas station has been moved,” said Ron Garlie of Puhi Paint, whose parking lot access has been pretty much blocked by the construction work. “They don’t know where to go. Cars can get into our parking area, but we have freight coming in with pallets to unload and we have to figure out how to do that.”
Sakaguchi said Stan’s is in the process of creating signage which will be placed to help motorists find the entrance to the gas station which has been moved to Kaumuali‘i Highway; motorists are advised to be wary of heavy equipment crossing the access road. When the construction is completed, exiting the station will be a right turn only onto Kaumuali‘i Highway.
“Business has dropped since the start of the construction and at one point, you couldn’t even see the building because of the dirt mounds,” said Collette Savage of The Wine Garden. “This is going to be a challenge, but we have loyal customers who keep returning and we really appreciate that. When this is over, the traffic should get better.”
Drenske, whose Hanalima Baking offers a variety of breads, baked goods, cookies and plate lunches, said there has been a steady decline in business since the construction moved the road an additional 30 feet away from the Puhi Plaza Village.
“But our regulars have been very supportive,” Drenske said. “This outbound road closure will be in effect until June 16, so we’re just waiting to see how it will affect us. We’ve scaled back on our production and have even thought of changing our hours, but we’re going to wait and see.”
Despite the business decline, Aika continues to crank out her Earthquake Relief cupcake packages where all the proceeds are turned over to help victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami.
“When we started, we were going to do it for only a year, but now, I think we’ll just keep doing it and turning the funds over to the American Red Cross,” Aika said.
Savage said she did not consider changing her hours, because the regular customers expect to find them when they come.
“We’re all not big businesses here,” said Savage, who will host a wine tasting featuring great value-priced wines Saturday from 4 to 7 p.m. “If we get one or two big days, it keeps us going.”
Savage said The Wine Garden tries to support a lot of Kaua‘i products including Kaua‘i Cigars, Garden Island Chocolate, Lotus Fudge, Hula Baby Biscotti, Nani Moon Mead and spices, rubs and sea salts from Aloha Spice, along with Wine Glass Charms.
“We understand that any project of such significance, especially one which will improve our island highway system will come with some temporary inconveniences,” said Marissa Sandblom of The Grove Farm Co., the company working with a crew tracing a water leak at the Puhi Plaza Village Wednesday.
J.C. Crouch of Kaua‘i Harley-Davidson has also felt the pinch; his shop complex is maintaining its 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. hours, but his customers have to traverse Leileona Street to access the shop through the parking area across from The Grove Farm offices.
Despite that, Crouch said his customers have been great, and Kaua‘i Harley-Davidson is hosting a free and open to all-comers Friday Night Ride on May 25 for coffee and pupu.
The riders will leave at 6:30 p.m. and “end our ride at a restaurant or pub for no-host refreshments and to swap lies.”
“This is just a free ride for anyone,” Crouch said. “There’s nobody we’re supporting this time, we just want the riders to have a nice free Friday ride.”
Sandblom said the construction has posed some challenges for families of children who use Puhi Park for practices, but the construction won’t be permanent.
“We have granted permission to a number of youth groups who practice in our Puhi Park as we have for a number of years,” Sandblom said. “While all the activity in the area has made it a little complicated for families to get to our park, we all understand the road will be reopened within a month.”
Sandblom said Grove Farm is also accepting applications for its Community Swap Meet scheduled for July 7, keeping her fingers crossed that construction is wrapped up on time so everyone can have an easier time visiting the event to support the island’s local vendors.
For more information, call 245-3678, ext. 223.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
