Life in Business: Island Edges Beads
Sharon Turner retired from being a high school theatre teacher in Arizona. Looking for something different and creative, she took a few classes in jewelry making. A native of Phoenix, the single mom of two boys taught there for 26…
Mushroom in a Bottle: A Gourmet Fungus, from Hamakua to the White House
By Denise Laitinen The mushroom—actually a fungus—grows on a lot of different matter in the wild, from tree logs to cow pies. It’s called “substrate,” as opposed to soil. In cultivation, the substrate makes a difference in the quality and…
The Life in Business: Kadota Liquor and K’s Drive In
Ryan Kadota, third-generation owner of Kadota Liquor and K’s Drive In, grew up in the family business. “Both Kadota Liquors and K’s Drive In were started in 1964 by my grandparents, Thomas and Kazue Kadota. They were affectionately known as…
The Life in Business: Aaronʻs Blue Kalo
Selling poi was not as easy as Aaron Sugino thought. So, with the poi that wasn’t selling, he started putting it in his mom’s (Aunty Bea’s) cookie recipe. And that’s how he started making the “macpoichip” cookies… and that is…
The Life in Business: Aloha Kona Kids
Winonna Tina Cerezo was pregnant with their fifth child when Aloha Kona Kids was born. The oldest of three siblings that today share in the store’s ownership, she and her husband, Eric, (a Hawai‘i County Police Officer who passed away…
The Life in Business: Concrete Technology of Hawai‘i
The mission of Concrete Technology of Hawai‘i is “to transform all boring and plain concrete into a beautiful long lasting and durable solutions for all of our customers. To cover all of Hawai‘i one slab at a time.” So says…
Growing a Flavorful Agribusiness: Vanilla
By Denise Laitinen When Jim and Tracy Reddekopp purchased their property in Pa‘auilo back in 1998, they weren’t sure what they were going to build or grow. The two O‘ahu natives just knew that they wanted to get away from…
Young Entrepreneurs Grow Organik: From Coffee Bags to Recycled Plastic, It All goes into Clothing and Accessories.
By Hadley Catalano It was a rainy day in late spring and Ed Fernandez had to pick up coffee bags. Not for harvesting purposes but for his popular organic and sustainable clothing and accessories company, Organik. Traversing through the windy,…
The Life in Business: Jet Vacation
The slogan, “Helping you create those magical memories,” explains the philosophy of Jet Vacation travel agency. Owner Linda Nagai says she followed her father’s dream of having a customer-service-based travel agency located on family property in Kona. Linda, who was…
The Life in Business: Village Toy Shop
Janet Louise, owner of Village Toy Shop, comes from a family of entrepreneurs. Her grandparents ran retail, tailoring and lodging enterprises and her parents owned an Italian restaurant, Giovanni’s Pizza, in Fullerton, CA. Growing up with these role models inspired…
The Life in Business: Ali‘i Woodtailors
Tom Sorensen and Paul Endresen are the owners of Ali‘i Woodtailors custom woodworking shop in South Kona. The two master woodworkers became partners and opened their first business in Washington state in1984. The two men moved to Hawai‘i in 2005…
The Life in Business: Fireplace & Home Center
Jeffrey Mermel, founder and owner of the Fireplace & Home Center in Historic Downtown Hilo, says he learned about fireplaces or wood stoves back in 1979 when his fiancé, Sally, owner of The Most Irresistible Shop in Hilo, suggested he…
The Life in Business: Paradise Plants Home and Garden Center
Lesley Hill, owner of Paradise Plants Home and Garden Center, has worked hard over the past 30 years in business to keep up with the changes in the marketplace. Today, more than selling just tropical plants, the Hilo-based retailer has…
The Life in Business: Akamai Pest Solutions
Roger Meints started his own business, Akamai Pest Solutions, in 2003 in Waikoloa, after leaving a large, national termite company. He started with termite inspections, then in 2006 decided to expand into dry wood termite treatments, using a green and…
The Life in Business: Okolemaluna Tiki Lounge
Brice and Lisa Ginardi, owners of Okolemaluna Tiki Lounge, always enjoyed making classic-recipe cocktails at home when entertaining friends, using fine ingredients and cocktail components. “We always make our own cocktail components (such as juices, syrups), and we use the…
The Life in Business: Keauhou Veterinary Hospital
Dr. Jacob Head and wife Jolene bought the existing veterinary practice, Keauhou Veterinary Hospital, in 2007 with the goal of making it into a very progressive hospital, says Jolene Head. “We are the only AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association) accredited…
Stephanie Bolton: Creative Art and Dance
“I was born eating and breathing paint—it’s in my blood!” says Stephanie Bolton, a third-generation artist who grew up on Hawai‘i Island. Both her maternal and paternal grandmothers were artists, her father is a sculptor and architect and her mother…
Lava Rock Realty
Peggy Yuan, owner and principal broker of Lava Rock Realty, says she always had a dream of opening her own real estate company since she got her broker’s license in 1995. She moved to Hawai‘i Island from Honolulu in 1998…
Atebara Chips
Atebara Chips, founded in 1936 by Raymond Atebara, was the first company in Hawai‘i to make potato chips, and it continues in business today. After WWII rationing cut the supply of imported potatoes, the company turned to locally grown foods,…
dlb & associates, LLC
When your property lines are established, your neighbors’ boundaries are also established. And their neighbors, …and their neighbors…,” says Daniel L. Berg, owner of surveying firm dlb + associates, LLC. He emphasizes the importance of knowing the exact location of…
Edible Flowers by Adaptations
A flowery splash of color and flavor atop your salad, soup or dessert at a local restaurant may have originated at Adaptations, Inc. of South Kona. Owners Tane and Maureen Datta began growing edible flowers in 1989 to fill the…
Abundant Life Natural Foods
Abundant Life Natural Foods in downtown Hilo, founded by Leslie Malulani Shizue Miki in 1977, has been making healthy living affordable on Hawai‘i Island for 34 years. The retail store is an out-growth of Abundant Life Herb Company, which used…
Plumbing Strategies, Inc
Close friends and business associates for more than 25 years, Alex and Heather Austin and Tony and Leolani Welsh, found life in the northwestern part of the mainland a little gray. Even though they loved the area, says Tony Welsh,…
Nooho‘ana Solar Technologies
The company name—Noho‘ana—means “way of life.” “That is really what we are promoting, a new way of thinking about how you use and generate power for your business and home, your way of life,” says Julia Paschoal-Cano, president of the…
Malama Pono Health Care
Claudia Christman has a deep-seated desire to help people live healthy lives. She began her medical career as a nurse practitioner who helped people manage chronic conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. “Seeking new learning,” Dr. Christman says,…
Healthy Skin Clinic
Dr. Alice Adee came to Hilo from California in 1992 as a young family practice doctor with two babies and no job. After briefly working for Bay Clinic, she started her own practice. After a few years, she decided to…
Kona MacNet
Brian Parnell, manager of Kona MacNet, is passionate about “all things Apple.” It’s a good thing, because he shares that passion with everyone who walks into the store in the Henry Street Shops in Kailua-Kona. Parnell has been the manager…
ATR Properties, Inc.
A strategic career change in 1991 set Geri Stephens on a new path to success in commercial real estate and a thriving business in vacation rental property management. As a self-described “local girl,” she realizes that she’s come a long…
Ali‘i Custom Gates
Decorative metal gates are a popular feature of fine homes and businesses all over the island. Ray Huff, owner of Ali‘i Custom Gates, realized that the climate here can be harsh on some metal surfaces. “We saw the need for…
Koehnen’s Interiors
Koehnen’s Interiors has deep roots in Hilo and the home furnishings store has survived more extreme challenges than most—two tsunamis, four floods, several sugar strikes and all of the fluctuating economies since 1929! Karyl Franks, manager, tells the story: “My…
