{"id":2125,"date":"2026-07-02T20:08:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T20:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2125"},"modified":"2026-07-02T20:08:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T20:08:54","slug":"kaya-store-marks-80-years-as-a-north-shore-landmark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2125","title":{"rendered":"Kaya Store marks 80 years as a North Shore landmark"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PUNALU\u02bbU (HawaiiNewsNow) – It\u2019s one of the few family-owned general stores left on the island, and for North Shore and Ko\u02bbolauloa residents, it\u2019s more than a quick stop \u2014 it\u2019s a piece of home. Holoholo with us to Kaya Store in Punalu\u02bbu, a longtime landmark along Kamehameha Highway.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNostalgia\u2026 grassroots.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Hau\u02bbula resident Lopaka Imes, the store is tied to childhood memories.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were all small kids, growing up, coming over here\u2014grabbing fishing gear, all of it,\u201d said Imes. <\/p>\n

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Even now, he says the routine hasn\u2019t changed much: the same familiar faces still stop in on the way to work, grabbing musubis, ice, and whatever they need before heading into town.<\/p>\n

Owner Beverly Hashimoto is carrying forward a legacy her family started in October 1946.<\/p>\n

\u201cI live in the back here, but let me tell you, every day I walk to work, I\u2019m thanking my parents for what we have here,\u201d said Hashimoto. <\/p>\n

Hashimoto\u2019s father, Bill Kaya, served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandparents and my oldest uncle decided, you know, at that time, and they said that when my father gets out of out of the military, they wanted him to run the business,\u201d said Hashimoto.<\/p>\n

Hashimoto shares the story behind why her family chose to open a store in the first place \u2014 a decision rooted in hardship and survival.<\/p>\n

She recalls asking her grandmother why they didn\u2019t start a grocery store. In broken English, her grandmother explained how poor the family once was \u2014 so poor she had to catch small fish in the river just to make musubi for school lunches.<\/p>\n

Her grandmother\u2019s answer stayed with her: \u201cIf we have a store, we will never starve.\u201d Hashimoto says that sentiment hits her in the heart \u2014 and explains the purpose behind Kaya\u2019s Store\u2019s beginnings.<\/p>\n

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Hashimoto says her father and his brothers opened Kaya Store, and her father\u2019s oldest brother \u2014 a contractor \u2014 built both the store and the home their family grew up in behind it.<\/p>\n

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With grandparents living there too, the space became the center of family life: the get-togethers, the work, and the long days.<\/p>\n

In the early years, the store leaned heavily into hardware and general merchandise. Hashimoto says her dad worked relentlessly \u2014 opening early, staying late \u2014 and even doing lawnmower repairs after closing.<\/p>\n

Because the building isn\u2019t enclosed, salt air would rust the cans. Hashimoto remembers being handed fine sandpaper as a kid and having to scrub the rust off so items could still be sold.<\/p>\n

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Later, she says her father got smarter: he began spraying clear lacquer on new cases of cans to make them last longer \u2014 a practice she still uses today.<\/p>\n

When larger commercial hardware businesses opened between L\u0101\u02bbie and Kahuku in the 1990s, the Kaya family made the decision to close the small hardware operation.<\/p>\n

Hashimoto and her husband, Vern, took over and shifted Kaya Store toward a convenience store model. They franchised Subway for several years \u2014 the space now replaced by a tattoo shop \u2014 and in 2015, they added Kaya\u2019s Kitchen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to do a lot of changes over the years,\u201d Hashimoto said, adding that the shift made sense \u2014 especially since she didn\u2019t consider herself a hardware person, even though her father loved it.<\/p>\n

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Punaluu resident Aiulu Manu Jr. remembers the store before the changes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had everything\u2026 pipes\u2014everything you needed was right here,\u201d said Manu. <\/p>\n

This year, Kaya Store is celebrating a major milestone: 80 years in business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe that many years have gone by, but I just feel very thankful and proud,\u201d said Hashimoto. <\/p>\n

Imes reacts with disbelief \u2014 \u201c80 years\u2026 can you believe that?\u201d \u2014 a reminder that while the store has evolved, its place in the community hasn\u2019t changed: familiar, local, and still standing.<\/p>\n

Read more Man dies while night diving off Windward Oahu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Hau\u02bbula resident Lopaka Imes, the store is tied to childhood memories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nKaya Store marks 80 years as a North Shore landmark - 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=2125\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kaya Store marks 80 years as a North Shore landmark - Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For Hau\u02bbula resident Lopaka Imes, the store is tied to childhood memories.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2125\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-02T20:08:54+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=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2125#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2125\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0\"},\"headline\":\"Kaya Store marks 80 years as a North Shore landmark\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T20:08:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2125\"},\"wordCount\":680,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2125#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/44d2f9e73424ea568bb46545a6116cce.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2125#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2125\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2125\",\"name\":\"Kaya Store marks 80 years as a North Shore landmark - 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