LIHUE — A long-tenured Kauai business has reopened its doors at a new location in Lihue, after a landlord dispute caused its closure in late April. KQ Speedie Lube 2 is now at 3148 Oihana St., where it offers oil
LIHUE — A long-tenured Kauai business has reopened its doors at a new location in Lihue, after a landlord dispute caused its closure in late April.
KQ Speedie Lube 2 is now at 3148 Oihana St., where it offers oil changes, safety checks and all of the other services the original, 30-year old business provided.
“I’m glad they’re open,” said Dailyn Sagucio of Hanapepe. “I used to go to change my oil, and since they closed, I have been waiting. They do good work, and you don’t wait too long.”
New owner and longtime loyal customer Reishi Gano of Lihue took over and re-opened it about a month ago.
“I would go there for my cars. It was a shame to see it closed. I had the space for it so it wasn’t much of a problem,” Gano said.
Gano was able to hire all the employees from the original Speedie Lube and retain a large base of its clientele.
The new location is “attracting familiar clients,” said Rylan Kapuy, KQ Speedie Lube 2 manager.
Business has been steady since the re-opening and Kapuy expects it to improve as more of the equipment arrives.
“They need a better sign,” said Daniel Sagucio. “We didn’t know where they were, so drove around before finally finding it.”
Gano, who also owns Kinda Quik towing, has a large amount of garage space in a lot right off Rice Street. As a former race car driver, his garage’s specialty is dyno testing for race cars.
The original Speedie Lube started as an oil change shop in 1987 and later added safety check inspections. It also became an outlet to dispose of used oil.
KQ Speedie Lube 2 doesn’t take reservations. And while online sites still say the business is closed, that is expected to be updated shortly.
Kapuy says an oil change will take 15 to 20 minutes to do, depending on the car.
The shop, which is still working out some kinks with its safety check machine, is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Eventually it will be open half days on Saturdays.
“I won’t really go anywhere else,” said Karl Henry, a long-time customer. “It’s the only place on the island that doesn’t need an appointment and doesn’t make you wait all day.”
Henry owns a small spa and pool company, and brings all five of his company cars to KQ Speedie Lube 2.
“All they need is a little more publicity and signage and they’re good to go,” he said.
