Longs opens new store in Poipu

POIPU — Charlie Fafard of Koloa was pleased to find out he won’t have to drive to Lihue to have his prescriptions filled anymore.

Tasha Medeiros, pharmacist at the new Longs Drugstore at The Shops at Kukuiula, assured Fafard that his prescriptions could be filled at the store’s full service pharmacy.

The newest store in the Longs chain on Kauai was blessed and dedicated Sunday morning before a handful of customers.

“We wanted to be the first customers,” Fafard said. “This is a much-needed store for the South Shore, and a very nice addition to The Shops at Kukuiula.”

The blessing marked the completion of the 10,000- square-foot building, of which 7,000 square feet will be devoted to retail, said Mike Segno, Longs store manager.

In addition to the pharmacy, the store will offer Hawaiian souvenirs, grab-and-go beverages, a photo station and a variety of consumer goods, including school and office supplies.

Catherine Lo of Poipu was also pleased to be able to get her prescriptions filled within walking distance of her home.

“We just walked over,” Lo said. “The blessing was this morning so I told Karl we had to start walking so we wouldn’t be late.”

They were pleased to learn they could use their QVS card to generate in-store specials from a machine which scans a customer’s card and prints coupons.

Longs associate Lori Toyama transferred from another store to be able to work in the Poipu store.

“I live in Koloa,” Toyama said. “This is close to where I live so it’s convenient. There are several other associates who also live in the Koloa area and transferred to work in this store.”

Ken Briltz of Fairfield, California, was one of the first customers in the store.

“We’re staying at a condo near here so I just walked over,” Briltz said. “In our town, we had a Longs Drugs, but they closed it for a QVS. Longs Drugs is big in Fairfield.”

The new store will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.