New Malama Market in Pahoa

[bananahead]

I also say we need a KTA in Puna... best store around!
Malama Mkt is crazy expensive! Safeway sucks and the $$ goes off island (I worked for them as a butcher for 13 yrs, never will shop there now)

....ps. the flow going towards Pahoa was a fluke... before that did you see exposed surface lava anywhere near there?? In all that excitement, making new roads through HPP etc., cutting paths to HVNP, etc. We ended up losing a single abandoned house in that entire flow last year, the one across from the dump... its this negative 'fear' that keeps the land value down here. but thats cool... all those worrying fools that sold themselves short, packed up and left super early, prob shouldnt have been living here in Puna in the first place... fwiw my place in HA was last covered w/lava about the time Christopher Columbus discovered the Caribbean 1492... look at the odds, then remember Pu'u O'o is just a weak tiny sore on Kilauea where lava travels at speeds of inches/hour.. then relax a bit in paradise for a change... now when Mauna Loa goes off again, then worry, Hilo is directly in its path, same with HOVE in Kau.. both have had multiple ML flows go through there in last 175 years.. w/one fast flow traveling at 5 MPH!... traveled 15 miles in 3 hours one night back in 1950, they didnt even know it was erupting til the lava hit the ocean in SoKona...
aloha

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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha

[terracore]

Malama has grown on me since they reopened after the lava flow. Their distance to other "real" stores will always lead to slum pricing, but we can sometimes score some great deals on sale and nearly-expired items. They also carry a lot of stuff that is more difficult to find. We've been buying garlic naan there. It's been on sale for the last month (maybe longer) at the same price/brand Target charges. Their produce prices are so high we only buy there if its a culinary emergency but it's better than driving to Keaau or Hilo. But they have a surprising "gourmet" section for a store of it's size and rural location.

While I do wish it was some other store opening in the new location, absent that I'm not going to bitch about Malama improving my options. Maybe the larger size will lead to larger volume leading to better prices.

[leilaniguy]

Where exactly is this?

[macuu222]

Isn't it the area behind Bryson Cinders?

[Obie]

The entrance will be at the traffic light from hell.

The Puna lunatics demanded that the roundabout had to be finished and they also demanded a traffic light at the intersection of Kahakai and Pahoa Village Road .

[kalakoa]

Puna lunatics demanded ... a traffic light at the intersection of Kahakai and Pahoa Village Road

This is written into the "Bryson's permit" as a prerequisite for final.

In any case ... due to the anti-growth and subsequent piecemeal project approvals, the long-term problems will be well-established before anyone quite notices them.

In this instance: Bryson's is about 9 acres, the existing Malama shopping center sits on about 9 acres, and between these two parcels is ... another 9 acres. It's going to be quite the traffic nightmare once it's all developed, with each having its own access, similar to the way it's currently necessary to drive out to the highway when visiting friends in the next subdivision.

I wonder what will go into the old Malama location? Maybe they can afford to leave it empty to avoid potential competition ... this is how Safeway and Walmart manage their real estate portfolios... pretty sure the old Hilo Safeway location is still vacant.

[Peter Easterling]

Yes, Malama is pricey. Yes, multiple options are cheaper and are in Hilo. Way over in distant Hilo. I also would have preferred KTA. However, a larger supermarket in Pahoa is, folks, a good thing. Puna is not going to be plagued with congestion (except nasal kind from the vog). The roundabout is not a landing pad for Muslim terrorists from the planet Xaxoo. Cash 'n Carry isn't coming back. Either is Prince. Too bad but we can now dry our tars and move on.

[Kapoho Joe]

quote:

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Originally posted by Peter Easterling

Too bad but we can now dry our tars and move on.

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Shouldn't you be out surfing?

[Obie]

"It's going to be quite the traffic nightmare once it's all developed, with each having its own access."

The access to Bryson's new shopping center includes 2 entrances from Pahoa Village Road and 2 from the Kahakai extension.Don't see how this would cause any more congestion than there is now unless people start driving from Hilo to Pahoa to shop.

Edit to say what I originally meant to say.

[Chunkster]

". . . unless people start driving to Pahoa to shop." - - - Obie

Not likely unless Malama drops their ghetto pricing model. Most families can easily pay for the gas for a trip to Hilo through price savings on a weekly grocery run. Malama is a rather large convenience store, imho.