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KAHULUI - Even though many die-hard Zippy's fans got their food fix during the eatery's early soft opening, many of them came back for more during Zippy's Kahului's grand opening Monday.

Carol Kuroda and her family went to Zippy's "every day" during the nearly weeklong soft opening. They enjoyed the food so much they returned Monday.

"Zip Pac, Zip Pac, Surf Pac, Zip Pac . . . we've also downed a couple of cakes," she said of her family's diet over the past week.

Kuroda and her family showed up Monday at 9:30 a.m., an hour before the opening, to get a seat in the dining area.

"We wanted to be first," she said as she and her family ate their breakfast of corned beef hash, hash browns and sausages.

Customer Josua Medrano said Monday was the second time he had been at the eatery.

"They have good food at reasonable prices," he said as he left the building.

Medrano chose to get his food to go and bought a chicken miniplate, an apple Napple and a Pepsi.

Over the weekend, he bought a regular chicken plate and Portuguese bean soup.

"It was busier (then)," he said.

A short line of people waited outside for Zippy's to open Monday, said restaurant managers, who observed the customers' mood was "mellow" during its first half-hour. But around 11 a.m. momentum built. The parking lot was packed, and the takeout-counter line was at least 25 people deep. Two police officers monitored traffic, and around three Zippy's officials greeted and directed customers at the door to alleviate congestion.

Maui residents have waited several years for Zippy's because restaurant officials held off the Maui opening until their Ewa location on Oahu was built. The Ewa site had stalled because of permitting processes.

"This is awesome" said Zippy's fan Dayna Webb, who was with her sister, Debra Ayala.

Webb, a former Oahu resident, said she has waited four to five years for the opening.

She said she and her family did not want to miss the opening day. They had showed up early, but, since no one was around, they went to Wal-Mart. Upon returning later, they found a packed parking lot.

Rolando Hernandez brought his girlfriend, Lucille Arcangel, to Zippy's for her 30th birthday.

"I think it's great," he said of the restaurant.

Kuroda said she appreciated having the restaurant open around the clock: hours that are hard to find on Maui.

She added that the variety and the bakery are also draws for her.

Customers have noticed that Maui Zippy's prices are slightly higher than those on Oahu.

Zippy's officials said the prices reflect shipping costs and the higher cost of products on Maui when compared to prices on Oahu.

At a Zippy's location at Kahala, a Zip Pac costs around $7.85 compared to $8.40 on Maui. Other price comparisons are chicken katsu for $6.70 on Oahu and $7.15 on Maui; large chili and rice for $4.10 on Oahu and $4.40 on Maui; and a nine-piece bucket of chicken for $16.65 on Oahu and $17.75 on Maui.

This is Maui's first Zippy's. Oahu has 24 locations. Kauai also had a Zippy's, but it was shut down after the economic downturn that followed Hurricane Iniki's ravaging of the island in the early 1990s.

Maui's Zippy's is open 24 hours a day, and has a dine-in area, Napoleon's Bakery and takeout area with seating. As at the Oahu restaurants, many of the Kahului restaurant's products come from a centralized kitchen on Oahu. But some bakeries are handling Maui baked products. Zippy's is owned by FCH Enterprises and was started by the Higa family in 1966.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.