KAHULUI
Around 400 shoppers waited in line and crammed their way into the new Whole Foods Market, which opened its doors to the public Wednesday morning at the Maui Mall.
Most shoppers were amazed by the variety and quality of the goods at the national organic and natural foods chain retailer, although some couldn't find what they came looking for.
"Everything looks so fresh here," said Holly Ferguson, of Kihei, as she admired the refrigerated dessert case filled with cupcakes, raspberry cheesecake tarts and assorted pies. "Desserts look good."
Ferguson was shopping with her friends and fellow "domestic goddesses" (housewives), Edee Tam, of Kihei, and May Salcedo, of Kahului, who were busy partaking of the various food samples offered.
After sampling a bite-sized piece of strawberry shortcake, Tam told her friends that she was going to buy the cake to take home.
She said the price for the whole strawberry shortcake square cake at $17.99 was comparable with what she would pay at Safeway.
Edward Romero, of Kihei, said he couldn't find several items he came looking for at the store, including fresh goji berry, apricot seed and fresh ginseng root.
"Everything I wanted, they didn't have it in the store," he said.
Romero said he was told by a store employee that those items at their Los Angeles store sell out in a flash.
But Romero did scoop up other items, including fresh-cut catfish, which he said he cannot find anywhere else on Maui, as well as the Synergy drink, a type of organic and raw handmade Chinese tea.
Romero said he can find the Synergy drinks at other markets on Maui, but he said the Whole Foods price at $4.49 per bottle was cheaper compared to $5.50 and $6.50 at other stores.
But he wondered if the price for the drink was low because of the store's grand opening.
The Kahului store is Whole Foods' second store in Hawaii. Its first Hawaii store opened in Kahala Mall on Oahu in 2008. Another store in Kailua, Oahu, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2011.
The Whole Foods Kahului store is at the old Star Market location. The store is about 26,366 square feet and employs 142 - 105 from Maui, 10 from Oahu and 27 from elsewhere.
Of Whole Food's 205 Hawaii suppliers, 60 are from Maui.
"The beauty you see in this store is what is surrounding
us here in Maui," Elyse Ditzel, the store's marketing supervisor, told a television cameraman.
The store's team leader, or manager, Ray Stockton said he was pleased by the initial turnout of customers, estimating that 300 to 400 people stood in a line that snaked from Whole Foods' front entrance to the middle of the mall near the movie theaters.
"Isn't that great?" he asked shortly after the doors opened. "I would love to see that every day."
Stockton said the store supports local vendors and also brings to Maui more variety, selection and choice.
And there is variety. In the yogurt section, there were at least 16 different brands of yogurt, some brands with at least five different flavors each. There is organic, rice, sheep milk and goat milk yogurt, along with Greek yogurt, probiotic yogurt and Icelandic style yogurt.
Prices for single-serve yogurt containers range from around 99 cents to $2.99 for a 6-ounce Siggi's Icelandic Style Skyr (strained nonfat yogurt), which comes in unique flavors such as a mix of orange and ginger.
For meat lovers, there are pulehu-ready baby back ribs for $11.99 per pound along with boneless pork chops for $9.99 per pound. Mild turkey Italian sausage was selling at $6.99 per pound. The market boasts unadulterated products, including its meats.
There are also salad bars, seafood bars and an olive bar, to name a few.
The prepared and ready-to-cook food sections resemble a Las Vegas buffet, with meats, pizza, sandwiches, salads, desserts, burritos, udon and sushi. There is also a coffee bar with cookies and gelato. At each of the counters, several workers were eagerly waiting to help customers, saying there were "no lines" and sometimes asking customers repeatedly if they needed any help.
The store also has an assortment of fruits, vegetables, cut flowers, vitamins and natural and organic household goods, baby items, such as chlorine-free diapers, and cat and dog food.
Anna Mae Schwartz, of Kihei, was buying a variety of goods, such as balsamic vinegar, mache rosettes (a salad green), which she was unfamiliar with but wanted to try.
She said she was going to compare prices when she went home. For example, she said, she likes the high-quality balsamic vinegars and olive oils, which she buys from other small shops on Maui. But on Wednesday she was buying the items at Whole Foods and would see how they taste.
She said she didn't expect prices to be much, if any, higher at Whole Foods than at other stores of its kind.
In comparing prices, a few shoppers Wednesday said they found some things such as fish selections and coconut milk drinks cheaper at Whole Foods than at other markets - some items $2 less at Whole Foods. But other customers found their favorite wine more than $3 more expensive at Whole Foods than at Costco.
Schwartz said Maui consumers are accustomed to paying higher prices, and she doesn't expect to be surprised when comparing Whole Foods prices with those at other stores.
"I don't personally think it's going to be a shock," she said. "To me, it's a choice you make."
Schwartz said she also likes the central location near movie theaters.
Barbara Jean Eberly, of Kahului, who was first in line to enter the store, also said she would be back because of the location.
Eberly, a fan of Whole Foods since she visited one in Dallas, came to the Kahului store at 6:30 a.m. because she "wanted to be early."
After about 15 minutes in the store, Eberly grabbed some red and yellow bell peppers, Fuji apples and some pine nuts.
She said she was pleased that she didn't have to buy some of those items in bulk, like she would have to do at Costco.
But she said she didn't like the produce-sized plastic bags for her nuts. She lifted the bag to show how much of her bag was empty with just one-fourth of a pound of nuts. "It's the environment, hello," she said of the large plastic bag.
Eberly did offer some shopping advice: "If it's not on sale, I'm not buying it."
The store's regular hours are from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.
