On the Big Island of Hawaii in the historic town of Papaikou, the Kimura General Store has been welcoming visitors and locals alike for more than a century. “We take great pride in being one of the last mom-and-pop general stores on all of the islands,” said Naomi Muronaka, store manager. “The store has been the hub of the community, providing snacks, drinks and general wares, plus space to meet and greet others.”

A Storied History…

On October 18, 1921, Tsukumo and Ume Hironaka opened the T. Hironaka Store, the first iteration of the store that at the time was a sugar plantation shop. Their store sold American and Japanese grocery items, produce, animal feed, Japanese medicinal products and other general merchandise until 1960, when the Morigaki family took over running the store.

Then in 1989, Colleen Aina, the Hironaka’s granddaughter, reinvented the store as Pinky’s 5 Eight, which became a landmark in the community for the next 25 years. Pinky’s offered manapua (a Hawaiian adaptation of the Chinese barbecue pork bun), pork hash, collectable cards and fireworks. In 2014, Aina retired and closed Pinky’s.

The store remained shuttered until Mariner and Theresa Revell purchased the business in June 2021, reopening as Kimura General Store in August 2022 with many of the same products, including manapua, hot dogs, made-to-order hot foods, musubi (a rice and Spam snack), beverages, snacks and fishing supplies. 

“The area is an old plantation community with generations of people still living here, so it’s very family and community oriented,” Muronaka said. Many of the employees live within minutes of the store too. “So we’re not just workers—we’re members of the community as well, so we know how important the store is to everyone.”

That local knowledge meant the Revells and Muronaka knew what traditions to continue at Kimura General Store, such as Pinky’s selling fireworks during the last week of the year. “Fireworks at the new year are pretty big here in Hawaii, so we decided to honor that Pinky’s tradition and stock fireworks so locals had a convenient location to get [them] to celebrate the coming year,” Muronaka said. 

…Yet Still a Trend-Setter 

While honoring its history with nods to the past, Kimura General Store also keeps up with current trends too. “We like to bring in new things, exotic snacks from Japan, Sweden, Dubai and China to stay on trend,” Muronaka said. The store’s Gen Z employees assist with deciding what popular items might be good to stock. 

In addition to staff input, a white board allows customers to jot down suggestions for items, which the store tries to bring in whenever possible. “These help us stay on trend and give customers new reasons to stop by our store,” she said. Muronaka also isn’t afraid to try new things. For example, this past summer, she added shaved ice to make snow cones in 30 to 40 flavors, which the customers loved.

Part of the merchandising strategy relies on the store’s location. “We’re the last stop before locals or tourists head out for the two-hour drive to the other side of the island, so we make sure we have good snacks, hot food, grab-and-go items, beverages and a wide selection of beer with local breweries represented,” Muronaka said. 

The store also offers island-specific items, such as its popular Oreo poke cakes, Jello poke cakes, tako kimchee, kimchee edamame, boiled peanuts and cucumber kimchee. 

Muronaka credits the employees with much of the store’s current success. “We all work together—it’s not a ‘me’ thing but an ‘us’ thing. They really helped me to build this store into a safe space.” 

She hopes customers leave Kimura General Store “feeling so good walking out that they want to come back, even if they are from out of town. We love when customers come back because it shows us that we were doing something right, that we were meeting their needs in a friendly way.” 

Owners Mariner and Theresa Revell with Beans, Kimura General Store’s mascot.