HANALEI — Hanalei Market has been open for nearly three months, and so far owners H.B. Banks and Liz Doyle have hit the ground running.
Banks said there are a lot of details and moving parts that need to be coordinated to keep the business flowing, with Doyle describing the process as something akin to “organized chaos,” she added with a smile.
“It’s really cool to see familiar faces. It’s really cool to see people of our community shopping here. It’s rewarding. It feels really good,” Doyle said.
Hanalei Market, which is located next to Baracuda, Sand People and Hanalei Bread Company in Hanalei Center, is the only health food store in town.
Customers have been waiting a long time for the business to open, and so far the feedback has been positive, now that an important need to provide healthful food to the community has been filled.
The market is hiring for all positions, but primarily register clerks, a barista and kitchen help. So far employees have been hard to come by, but the workers they have so far have been dedicated.
On the flip side, however, housing is a major factor impacting workers. Doyle shared about the challenges that some of her employees face.
“We have three specific employees. One of them is living in her car. But she comes in to work. She’s dedicated. She’s actively been looking for something in her budget. But she can’t find anything. There’s another worker who worked here who wanted to be manager for the cafe. Has a lot of experience. Just a really solid person,” Doyle said.
“She had to move to O‘ahu because she couldn’t find housing. Another girl that is supposed to be training … has a lot of experience. Just a good employee. She’s leaving at the first of the year because she also can’t find housing. There’s these really qualified people who want to work here, but they can’t find anywhere to live.”
Overall, things are going well, and the owners have a goal to source goods locally, but for the time being most of their items are sourced out of California. Being in the middle of the Pacific Ocean presents some complications as well.
“I think in general though, about business here, you have to expect it to be harder. We are in the middle of the Pacific. We’re about (2,500) miles from the coast of California. And that’s where a lot of the mainland supplies are coming from,” Banks said.
In terms of what goods are to be sold in store, there’s a lot to consider, especially when it comes to finances and pricing.
“We are trying to shift our selection as much to locally supplied stuff as we can. It’s just that that takes a lot more resources due to working with so many different vendors and small companies and small farms. So we definitely want to get there. We just wanted to get off the ground and start somewhere,” Banks said.
He continued, “That’s why we work out of San Francisco. Our produce supplier, they’re like a middle man for all the farms. I think Kaua‘i has farming infrastructure potential to supply more. I think it’s just pricey sometimes because with small farms you have to price a little higher because your volume is not at a level that is more price conscious for the customer.”
Another example comes down to what is available on the island and what is not.
“Yeah, it’s like I’m sitting here eating blueberries. I don’t know of anybody here that is growing blueberries. And blueberries are a great fruit. But a lot of times they come in plastic,” Hanks said.
“There’s a lot of things that when we started this we worried about these things because you don’t want to bring more trash to the island. If it’s plastic or other things. But it’s really hard because there are a lot of things in the store that people want, but we can’t carry. It’s very challenging.”
Hanalei Market is working toward selling premade foods as well, catering toward workers who need to grab a quick bite when on break or going back to work.
Outpost Coffee is also available for purchase at Hanalei Market, and is a separate business working together with Hanalei Market to produce quality coffee drinks for the community.
Mac McDonald, who is a state champion barista, talked about the business.
“I’ve been working beside Ben Fitt, who owns Outpost Coffee. I came to island about a year and a half ago. He was my next door neighbor. And he just needed another person to help him with farmers markets and stuff,” McDonald said.
“Very quickly everything started to escalate a little bit more and figuring out stuff with our farm. I’ve just been his ‘right hand lady.’ We’ve gone to the conference on the Big Island together and competitions.”
He continued, “It’s been taking off very quickly. About two years back he sold his whole crop for the entire year in 24 hours online. It’s been taking off here (at Hanalei Market) too. The location in Kapa‘a should be open sometime next year. Or in the springtime. We don’t know yet, but we will know at some point in the near future.”
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Monique Kemper is a lifelong North Shore resident who lives in Princeville and writes periodically for The Garden Island.
