The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo Ninety-four-year-old Hanzawa’s Variety Store sits at the corner of Kaupakalua and Awalau roads in a mauka section of Haiku. The store owners have proposed an expansion that they say they need to stay viable as a business. But some neighbors are concerned the project would change the character of their community.

WAILUKU — The shop itself might be tiny, but a proposal to rezone and expand the 94-year-old Hanzawa’s Variety Store has grown into a big controversy in the usually laid-back Kaupakulua community. Some of the neighbors who oppose the project say they aren’t ready to accept a compromise that’s been proposed, and store owner Matt Daniells said he’s exhausted and near the end of his rope after spending five years and more than $100,000 on his zoning application so far. Both sides say they’re sad that the dispute has led to angry words and hurt feelings between neighbors in this small, rainy corner of Haiku. “We only had great respect for Mr. Hanzawa,” said Leina Shirota-Purdy, who owns land opposite the store and grew up within walking distance. “It’s just sad, because we’re all longtime friends, and it’s come to the point that we’re just not friendly anymore.