Safeway Senior Vice President Kevin Lovell, after looking at the Safeway Lihue store (it’s in the Hokulei Shopping Village) on Wednesday, did not know whether it was Christmas or fall because of the elaborate in-store displays that overflowed to the vintage Jeep laden with pumpkins. Congratulations, Lesah Merritt (she’s been working for Safeway for more than 30 years before coming home with the benefits of having a big box store for the rural island!) and her crew, including Safeway Regional Manager Clayton Eto who has ties to the island, on a great job of not only transforming the store from “Lifestyle” to a model that Safeway will follow on future rebuilds … you gotta check out the changes in person to fully appreciate the effort.
Safeway Senior Vice President Kevin Lovell, after looking at the Safeway Lihue store (it’s in the Hokulei Shopping Village) on Wednesday, did not know whether it was Christmas or fall because of the elaborate in-store displays that overflowed to the vintage Jeep laden with pumpkins. Congratulations, Lesah Merritt (she’s been working for Safeway for more than 30 years before coming home with the benefits of having a big box store for the rural island!) and her crew, including Safeway Regional Manager Clayton Eto who has ties to the island, on a great job of not only transforming the store from “Lifestyle” to a model that Safeway will follow on future rebuilds … you gotta check out the changes in person to fully appreciate the effort.
Julie Souza said Lesah wanted the kupuna for entertainment, and Safeway celebrated the occasion by awarding to gifts — one to the Kauai United Way and one to the Kauai Philippine Cultural Center. The store also took time to recognize its outstanding employees, including Kaimana and Elaine (they had to go find her because she was chatting with customers), and two Special Olympics athletes who recently participated in the state games on Oahu.
If you are looking for something to do following checking out the new store (it’s Five Dollar Friday, today!), the Kauai Philippine Cultural Center, along with a list of sponsors, present the inaugural Kauai Filipino American History Month with lots of vendors, food trucks, entertainment, cultural dances and demonstrations, and a lot more.
And, don’t forget the Kauai Chocolate Festival on Sunday that starts from 10 a.m. at Kilohana.
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Dennis Fujimoto can be reached at 245-0453 or at dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
