Location, Location, Location | #1 | Memory Lane

Location, Location, Location | #1 | Memory Lane

We hop over to Kauai to talk story with Sandy Shope, owner of Pualani Hanalei.

Owning a retail space can be a tough, time-consuming business. It also has tremendous rewards: customer relationships, creating jobs, contributing to the local ambience, and much more. This is the first in a series of posts where we talk story with our store owners and get their take on running a Pualani boutique.

 

Enter: Sandy Shope. This former Florida girl moved to Hawaii four decades ago with her high school sweetheart and never looked back. Her husband, Gator, is a contractor with a successful history of building / improving / flipping houses on Kauai and the Big Island. They have two sons, Chase and Makoa.

 

How did you and Iwalani meet?

 

Oh boy, Iwalani and I go back thirty years or so. Whether it was walking Hanalei Bay or cruising down the Napali coast in a Zodiac, we were always in our bikinis... and I remember some really fun bikini parties!

 

How long have you been running your store location?

 

It will be eight years this October.

 

What was your business experience before Pualani?

 

Lets see, I took ten years off to stay at home while my boys were little. Iwalani called one day and said, "How would you like to find a sweet little spot in Hanalei to open a Pualani Store?" and we manifested it, we made it happen!

 

What’s the funniest thing that has happened at your location?

 

Oh my goodness! So many funny things happen at Pualani Hanalei. We always say, "What happens at Pualani Hanalei stays at Pualani Hanalei." If you’ve been in the store, you know about the ‘Man Chair’! One time, a couple were in and he was in the chair while she was trying on suits, and she kept saying "My daughter is going to love these suits - I have to tell her about these suits, she’s coming to Kauai in the summer." A couple of weeks later, I got an email. The mom had heard back from her daughter and remarked about what the daughter had said when she told her about our store; she said, "Oh, we always stop in there when we're on Kauai… Did dad do some time in the Man Chair?"

 

What do you like best about owning a Pualani boutique?

 

Owning a Pualani boutique is like owning the best restaurant in town! Everyone goes away happy and full and can’t wait to come back again and again! The suits make every woman look and feel amazing. I don’t have to be a pushy sales lady because there is something for every body type in this store and we know we can get the perfect fit no matter what.

 

Anything else?

 

Love you guys - thanks for the trip down memory lane!

 

PualaniHanalei.com

 

5-5412 Kuhio Highway, Hanalei, HI 96714 • (808) 826-7946 • [email protected]

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