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I think it's a reasonable question to ask why Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision has never had a small convenience store in the park...especially now that it's getting too expensive for many of us to drive our vehicles. We certainly could use one. Hawaiian parks and shores has one....orchidland has several and HOVE has one and they are all private subdivisions like HPP. Is there something in HPP's charter that forbids it? Or is it that no one has been enterprising enough to take on the challenge?
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While HPP does have land set aside for commercial purposes the primary issue is infrastructure. The commercially intended land lacks water and other basic infrastructure to support a commercial venture.
Best bet for HPP is to gather sufficient demand and strength for a commercial area of sufficient number of stores to justify the infrastructure costs.
Assume the best and ask questions.
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Yes...that was my assumption also...but water lines do go down Paradise to the fire station at 22nd. And a basic "ma and pa" operation somewhere along that way wouldn't require much more "if" land along that route is zoned commercial or "if" someone who already owns land asked HPP to rezone it for that purpose.
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Please someone, pick up this ball and run with it.
As a creative person, I occaisionally come up with ideas for new products and ventures, and here's one that could be timely. I'd like to develop it myself, but can't keep up the demand for my own products (and still get to the beach once and awhile).
My idea:
A mobile grocery store that would set up in rural neighborhoods on a regularly scheduled basis. Most neighborhoods have small public places or parks that could be used to set up. I think their associations would welcome this type of enterprise.
It would need a small central warehouse(garage), a panel truck or similar vehicle, a small genset/reefer/freezer or propane units.
The plan:
Set up one day a week in different locations so residents wouldn't need to drive anywhere. For example; Mondays- Kapoho, tuesdays- the acres, wednesdays- HPP, etc.
Products could be aquired from wholesalers such as Y Hata, Suison, or that Natural food distributer in Kealekekua (forget the name), and stored in the warehouse.
Due to size, the selection in the truck would be limited to basic, healthy stuff and bulk items like rice,whole grains, beans, bread, cereal, etc. One or two kinds of meat, cheese, milk and perishables.
Members (why not?), could log on to your website and order specific items for you to bring the next scheduled day. This way you could offer products online that you wouldn't normally have room for in the truck.
From my understanding, most of the wholesalers offer net 30 days or so for payment, which means you wouldn't have to spend a lot on inventory until you start selling.
This type of plan is my idea of how to achieve a "village" type economy without a high demand on infrastructure or resources. I think your overhead would be low enough for prices to be competitive.
(Customers would save money and time by not having to drive anywhere.)
Any entrepreneurs out there?
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Intriguing idea Greg. I always appreciate original thinking.
Meanwhile, I can't see why a fixed convenience type store wuld have to have county water. If a catchment tank was used and filled under contract by a water hauler the water quality would be good and consistant too. I know people who buy water rather than depend on rainfall and their costs are comparable to water metered service.
Perhaps someone should approach Da Store on Kahakai to consider expanding to HPP?
Assume the best and ask questions.
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oh thats so poverty-ized its scary, its like the carribean where they sell just one cigarette, one tampon...
I can see it now "kids run down to the truck store and get mommy a beer and here's a quarter for the quarter (penny) candy, he's leaving in 5 minutes! run" lol
Good idea! Maybe the thai smile truck will come to hpp (at dinner time) and sell sundries too.
Maybe hpp got complacient with wiki wiki so close selling gas and all.
Maybe its politics.
Unfortunatly our current legislatures don't like the things poverty stricken communities have relied upon forever like road side vendors and panhandlers they are illegal now!!!![:0]
I don't think anything is gonna get done in HPP for a long time, to many guards at the door, aka committes.
I lost hope when the county shut off the HPP water pipe and moved it 3 miles away [  !]
Some people need to visit a 3rd world country to see how the other half lives before they should be allowed to make decisions affecting the people.
Wonder how this looming depression is gonna pan out?
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I think the problem is that HPP simply is not organized. It is a very loose --and immense-- confederation. There is --or was-- a large parcel set aside on Fifth. I think it is set aside to be a park. Not sure. But there is no question that HPP could support a small shopping center. In my dream, that shopping center includes a market with locally grown produce and all the basics, a 200 square foot community police station, a coffee shop and bakery, a nice Thai restaurant, and a 24 hour all-male naked hula juice bar (with tropical smoothies on tap). Not sure about that last part. Maybe a small community health center would be better. I think we should entertain ALL ideas though. I know I will be.
It will be hard to get this going because HPP is such a loose --and scattered-- confederation.
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there has been some interest in the township idea
The devil is in the detail
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Most of the current zoning was put in place during the time of cheap gas so our communities are large sprawling affairs. If you notice how things were arranged before zoning codes (and extensive automobile use) most towns had a central area with most of the businesses around a central gathering square. A park nearby, the library, police and fire, etc. nearby. Folks could basically walk everywhere. When the automobile became common, towns spread way out with residents living much too far away to walk to all their business and employment needs. With cheap gas it was okay to have houses set ten miles from town, it was quieter and the land out from town was cheaper so folks could build larger houses. Now, with the increased fuel prices, it is not good to have all commercial enterprises so far from the houses. We have some very outmoded zoning codes which are going to really limit how we can arrange things.
There used to be small delivery trucks which would bring milk, meat, produce and bread to the houses. Anyone remember getting milk delivered? It came in glass bottles with the cardboard caps? Those small delivery trucks will soon sprout up again with everyone getting their weekly vegetable basket, bread once or twice a week, milk every other day or so. Much better to have one truck making the trip than thirty or sixty. If you've got a truck, you could start a delivery service. Find out what the wholesalers sell, make a list of what you can deliver and advertise for customers.
There is already a cargo service which goes from Honokaa to Hilo and back. They also go from Honokaa to Kona and back. If you want something picked up in either Hilo or Kona and you live between Hilo and Kona, you can call Coastline in Honokaa and they will (for a small fee) pick your item up. I use their service when I need something from Hilo and don't have the time to drive to town and get it. Now I can use their service when I can't afford to drive to town to get it. Someone could very well start the same sort of service from Puna to Hilo and back.
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
Unfortunately, with the rising cost of shipping items from the mainland, small stores will suffer the most.
Why walk to a store for a $2.29 bottle of Powerade at Pahoa Cash and Carry (which is w/in walking distance) when I can spend the $.75 cents in gas to go the extra mile to Malama Market to pick them up at 10 for $10.00.
If I were to walk to cash and carry and pick up 10 bottles it would cost me 22.90 plus applicable sales tax and bottle redemptions.
At Malama Market the 10 turned out to cost $11.00 something. That's a $10.00 savings by spending the extra buck in gas.
What would you rather spend money on?
Large stores work on Volume and it's hard to succeed in todays market place if your only dealing in small volumes.
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Lower your expectations and be ready for anything.
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