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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
The Aloha Petroleum gas pumps at Tony's, which is around the corner from Costco Iwilei, have competitive prices.
Neighboring pumps
compete with CostcoOne needn't be a member of a wholesale warehouse store to get cheap unleaded regular on Oahu.
It helps, but cheaper-than-normal gas is available without a membership card of any sort.
You just have to know where to go.
Costco Wholesale opened its second Oahu gas station, on Alakawa Street in Iwilei, in mid-November.
Gas purchases at nearby Tony's at 581 Dillingham Blvd. are down about 30 percent since then, said owner Tony Yi.
Despite the drop, pump prices have stayed low.
Last week, Costco's Iwilei location on Alakawa Street was selling unleaded regular at $1.849 and premium unleaded at $1.979 a gallon.
Tony's prices were $1.889 for unleaded regular, $1.989 for unleaded plus and $2.089 for super unleaded.
Those prices compare to the gas price index in Tuesday's Star-Bulletin business section. For stations in the downtown area, regular unleaded went from $1.959 at Lex Brodie to $2.009 at ARCO; midgrade unleaded ranged from $2.049 at Lex Brodie to $2.099 at Chevron, Tesoro and Shell; premium unleaded went from $2.139 at Lex Brodie to $2.199 at Chevron, Tesoro and Shell.
The national average for unleaded regular gasoline was $1.637.
Sigh.
The automated Costco station accepts American Express credit cards, selected debit cards and Costco cash cards for purchases; it does not take cash. Customers must be Costco members to make a purchase.
It sells two, rather than three grades of gas, "consistent with the general merchandise policy of limiting selection," said Franz Lazarus, executive vice president of Washington-based Costco Wholesale.
"When you limit selection you're able to offer better pricing," he said.
Yi is the landowner and shopkeep at Tony's, but his gasoline operations are run by Aloha Petroleum Ltd., which provides the petrol and maintains the pumps.
"I collect cash for them," Yi said.
The company installed new pumps last week, which will provide some relief for Yi, whose gasoline customers often grumbled to him about the card-reader malfunctions over which he had no control.
"Everybody's happy now," he said.
The pumps accept various credit and debit cards, and cash customers pop into the store first, the old-fashioned self-serve way.
Yi decided he couldn't make money running the gas operation and chose to partner with Aloha Petroleum. Officials of the company did not return repeated calls.
From struggling at first, Yi took advantage of recent drops in interest rates to refinance with help from Central Pacific Bank and the Hawaii Economic Development Corp., a private nonprofit organization.
"Our sole mission is to assist small businesses in financing their capital asset needs," said President David Perkins. He described Yi as "a very hard worker."
That contributes to the lion's share of revenue Tony's generates, from his convenience store, where he is the only employee.
Two other revenue streams may be coming soon.
A car-wash operator will fire up a hand-wash business next month and pay Yi a percentage of its income for use of the property.
The operator of an adjacent 800-square-foot restaurant recently moved out, leaving the turnkey space available for leasing. Yi has listed it with Marcus & Associates Inc.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at: eengle@starbulletin.com
