windward
The Whole Foods Market Marketing Machine
With the grand opening of the Whole Foods Market in Kailua coming up in a few days, its marketing machine has been busy. Here are just two promotional materials that have come my way.
And don’t forget about the (sold out) Preview Tour on Sunday, April 15.
Spotted: Rainbowtique at Windward Mall
The influx of shops continues for Windward Mall, the mall that cares. This week as I was looking for some Opae ula at Koolau Pets, I saw the (relatively) new Rainbowtique store selling all kinds of University of Hawaii gear.
Speaking of Rainbows, I hope the Men’s basketball team makes a run in the upcoming WAC Tournament. Let’s go Bows!!
Vote for Vawer!
Rookies. Every profession has a term for the uninitiated – the newbies, the interns, the freshmen. So don’t be surprised that the sorority of Sports Illustrated swimsuit models has its share of rookies. One of this year’s rookies is Hawaii-raised Michelle Vawer.
Michelle is contending for Swimsuit Rookie of the Year and represents the Aloha State. And yes, she was a swimmer for Team No Ka Oi.
You can vote for Michelle until the contest closes on March 12, 2012.
More Starbucks Hipness
I guess morning coffee from Starbucks is hip with this pic making the Popular List on Hipster.com.
Heh, viewed over 2500 times?!
The Secret to Your Pet’s Veterinary Health
What is the secret to your pet’s good health and well being? From the looks of things at the VCA Kaneohe Animal Hospital, it has to be Coke products, lots and lots of Coca-Cola for your pets. 😉
Eat Out Kailua
To bolster fundraising efforts, Kailua’s Hawaiian Soljahs baseball team organized a food truck and classic car rally this past weekend. Here are a few pictures from the event.
Executive Chef Kailua Now Open
Actually, the Kailua location of the Executive Chef has been open since the month of December. Located right on the corner of Kailua Road, they’re a highly visible sight.  In fact, the store appeared to be open in November, but Closed signs indicated otherwise.
The store’s interior is big, filled with every cooking gadget and tool you can think of.  The store is also deceptively “long,” taking some time to wend through all the aisles.  When I visited, there were so many workers (maybe 10), probably too much at an off-peak hour but reassuring nonetheless, and I did find a punchbowl serving ladle hiding by the checkout registers.
Now for the bad. While the location’s visibility is great, the parking is bad. There are three stalls (one of them reserved for Handicapped parking) near the store entrance, but getting to these limited stalls is tricky and the roadway is a tad tight. Otherwise, the parking is in the back, way in the back, beyond First Hawaiian Bank. In fact, the nearest row of parking is reserved for FHB customers, pushing back general parking even further. Hopefully, this FHB designation is removed to share the lot with upcoming businesses.
Executive Chef should get a boost once the neighboring Whole Foods opens up in 2012. You definitely need the upscale cookware to prepare your upscale groceries! Now I wonder if upscale clothing retailer, Fighting Eel, can get in on this… picture the modern day business mom driving home to Kailua, stopping off to pickup a fabulous outfit at Fighting Eel, then popping into the Executive Chef, and finally shopping at Whole Foods. Can you see it?