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Zippy's may soon expand beyond Oahu to Maui

The Maui Business Park in Kahului will most likely host the first Maui-based Zippy's.

An Oahu institution since 1966, Zippy's made its reputation with chili, selling 10 tons per week. On Maui, Zippy's chili is served at Taco Bell restaurants, but other popular specialties such as Zip Mins and Napoleon's turnovers are available on Oahu only.

The parent firm, FCH Enterprises Inc., is close to completing a purchase from A&B Properties of a 65,000-square-foot lot at the corner of Hookele Street and Puunene Avenue, said Charlene Kim, director of marketing for FCH Enterprises.

When completed, the company's only neighbor island eatery will include a quick service counter, dine-in restaurant and a Napoleon's Bakery retail operation. It is expected to be as big as 7,000 square feet with a seating capacity of 224.

Zippy's first neighbor island restaurant, on Kauai, was closed following Hurricane Iniki in 1992. There are 23 locations on Oahu; all are company-owned and -operated.

Moana Pacific tower sells out

The West Tower of Moana Pacific has sold out in seven weeks, and developers have announced that they will use a lottery to handle sales at the second tower.

KC Rainbow Development will begin accepting lottery applications in June for sales of its second tower, the East Tower.

Applications are available at the Moana Pacific sales office at 1288 Kapiolani Blvd. For more information, buyers may also log onto www.moanapacifichawaii.com.

Northwest to serve Kona-Seattle

Northwest Airlines said yesterday it will begin daily service between Seattle and Kona beginning July 15, adding a third island destination to its Hawaii routes.

The airline will reach Kona via an extension of Northwest's existing daily Seattle-Kahului route. The return service to Seattle from Kona will be non-stop.

Northwest said the Kona route is being added in time for the summer travel season, but that the service will remain in place year-round.

Northwest serves Honolulu from its hubs at Minneapolis/St. Paul and Detroit as well as Seattle. Additional service between Honolulu and Los Angeles resumes July 1 for the summer season.

The Kona flights will use Boeing 757-300s seating 224 passengers.

Matson starting 'Paniolo Express'

Matson Navigation Co. has launched a "Paniolo Express" for Hawaii's cattle industry that will reduce the transit time from neighbor islands to the West Coast to five days from eight.

The roll-on, roll-off service, which began Saturday, includes direct calls from Hilo to Long Beach, Calif., with the S.S. Matsonia; and from Kahului, Maui, to Oakland, Calif., with the S.S. Lurline.

Plans are under way to expand the service to include direct calls from Hilo to Oakland later this summer with the S.S. Great Land. Under the previous service, cattle were shipped from the neighbor islands to Honolulu on barges and then shipped on Matson's long-haul vessels.

Dave Hoppes, Matson's vice president of ocean services, said the company is in the process of developing newly designed cowtainers that will improve the quality of cattle carriage capabilities while reducing the cost of equipment purchases.

The new service also may provide some benefits for Hawaii agricultural products, such as nursery stock, Matson said.

Gaming board OKs Boyd hotel purchase

Boyd Gaming Corp., which conducts travel charters from Hawaii to Las Vegas, has received unanimous approval from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board for its $190 million acquisition of Harrah's Shreveport.

The operation is expected to close tomorrow for the transition of ownership to Boyd and then reopen Thursday as Sam's Town Shreveport. The property will include a 514-room hotel, four restaurants, a convention center and 28,000 square feet of casino space featuring 1,224 slot machines and 32 table games.

Amcon begins trading under reverse split

Amcon Distributing Co., the parent of Hawaiian Natural Water Co., began trading under a new price structure yesterday after shareholders last week approved a 1-for-6 reverse split. The stock fell 25 cents to $25.85.

The Omaha, Neb.-based consumer products distributor said it wanted to implement a reverse split to allow small stockholders to liquidate their shares easily and to reduce mailing costs to stockholders with small accounts. The company said that as of Feb. 27 approximately 630 shareholders owned fewer than six shares of stock and that "many" of the 1,800 shareholders who owned shares through brokerage accounts also held fewer than six shares. Those shareholders with fewer than six shares received cash for their holdings without having to pay brokerage commissions for selling their stock.

The Beverage Group Inc., an Amcon subsidiary, sells natural spring water under the Hawaiian Springs label.