{"id":1418,"date":"2026-06-16T11:04:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T11:04:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1418"},"modified":"2026-06-16T11:04:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T11:04:40","slug":"paauilo-store-closes-after-70-years-serving-hamakua-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1418","title":{"rendered":"Paauilo Store closes after 70+ years serving Hamakua Coast"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PA\u02bbAUILO (HawaiiNewsNow) – If you grew up on the Big Island along the H\u0101m\u0101kua Coast, you\u2019ve likely shopped at Pa\u02bbauilo Store.<\/p>\n

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Located in Pa\u02bbauilo, near Honoka\u02bba, it was the place to be, thanks to the Saito family, who took over operations with a business partner in 1949.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack in the old days, they had everything. A butcher\u2019s store, they had a dry goods center. They had everything you could think of, they had at Pa\u02bbauilo Store,\u201d said Jill Chavez, who grew up in Pa\u02bbauilo. \u201cIt was just our store for the community or whoever wanted to stop there.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Miles Saito ran the story with his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always just tried to be a part of the community,\u201d he said. \u201cWe always did our best to meet the needs of whatever the community needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of meeting the needs of the community was delivering groceries, which Allison Rohfeld says her dad did part-time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people would call their orders in for grocery, and then they (the store workers) would pack them up and put it into my dad\u2019s truck in the bed, and then he would drive around the plantation camp, you know, all the groceries,\u201d Rohfeld said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have fond memories of that, so, you know, some of us kids would jump in the back and ride with him,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Over the years, the Pa\u02bbauilo Store evolved and became known for its grab-and-go meals. This includes their most popular item, the bento-in-a-roll musubi, created by family member Schoen Maekawa for the many truck drivers who didn\u2019t have time to sit down and eat.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe thought, well, maybe we\u2019ll take the same ingredients that\u2019s in the bento and roll it into a roll form, like a sushi, so they could eat it while they\u2019re driving,\u201d said Saito.<\/p>\n

The original store was torn down by landowner Kamehameha Schools in 2008, and moved to its current location nearby, right next to the post office.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The store closed for good late last month after what Kamehameha Schools described as a mutual agreement with the Saito \u02bbohana.<\/p>\n

Read more Kauai murder suspect appears in court<\/a><\/p>\n

Miriam Saito, the matriarch of the family, said, \u201cThank you to everybody for supporting us for the years. I have been with the business for how many years, almost 60 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark Saito said, \u201cAppreciate all the customers over the years and, yeah, very grateful to the community again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Customers can still get their bento roll fix and other longtime favorites at Earl\u2019s Waimea, which the Saitos still operate on Mamalahoa Highway. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cWe are sad, saddened that we had to, you know, that we\u2019re leaving Pa\u02bbauilo, but we\u2019re still here. We\u2019re in Waimea and we\u2019re still servicing the community,\u201d Saito said. <\/p>\n

Still, community members shared messages of aloha for the Saito \u02bbohana\u2019s longtime impact in Pa\u02bbauilo.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for bringing Pa\u02bbauilo Store to us and sharing. I mean, they were such a sharing family and that\u2019s all they cared about is the community. So, yes. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart,\u201d said Chavez.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks for the Christmas parties. Thanks for having Pa\u02bbauilo Store and Earl\u2019s, and for the memories. And thank you for giving my dad a job,\u201d said Rohfeld.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

In a statement, Kamehameha Schools said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Kamehameha School extends its deep gratitude to the Saito ohana for their generations of service and contributions to the Pa\u2019auilo and broader Hamakua community through Earl\u2019s Pa\u2019auilo Store. For decades, the family has helped make the store a familiar and valued gathering place, serving local families and visitors with care and aloha.<\/i><\/p>\n

After many years of warm and trusted partnership, Kamehameha and the Saito ohana have mutually agreed to conclude their lease early. This transition allows the family to focus on their store in Waimea while opening the next chapter for the site to continue contributing to the community. <\/i><\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Kamehameha is working with Hui Malama i ke Ala Ulili (HuiMAU) to expand its community hub into the space. As part of those conversations, the Saito ohana and HuiMAU have expressed interest in continuing to offer Earl\u2019s signature musubi and bentos at the site. Future offerings may also include fresh, local products that support regional agriculture, aina-based stewardship, wellness, and community connection. Kamehameha is exploring additional opportunities and will share more as plans are finalized. Together, the next steps honor the Saito ohana\u2019s important contributions while ensuring the Pa\u2019auilo storefront remains a vibrant, community-centered resource for generations to come.”<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Taj Clubhouse closing at Ward Centre after 50 years in business<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pa\u02bbauilo Store has closed after more than 70 years, but the Saito \u02bbohana says it will continue serving the community in Waimea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nPaauilo Store closes after 70+ years serving Hamakua Coast - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1418\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Paauilo Store closes after 70+ years serving Hamakua Coast - Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pa\u02bbauilo Store has closed after more than 70 years, but the Saito \u02bbohana says it will continue serving the community in Waimea.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1418\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-16T11:04:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1418#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1418\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0\"},\"headline\":\"Paauilo Store closes after 70+ years serving Hamakua Coast\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-16T11:04:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1418\"},\"wordCount\":806,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1418#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/36392cc7d8f9c37b8fd94e320e6c180b.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1418#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1418\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1418\",\"name\":\"Paauilo Store closes after 70+ years serving Hamakua Coast - 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