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Demand for Beemers
in Kona leads to new
Big Isle dealership

BMW of Honolulu is expanding to Kona. "We've purchased the property in the Kaloko area, across the road from Home Depot," said Dennis Short, president of BMW of Honolulu, speaking via telephone from New Orleans, where he had attended the 88th annual National Automobile Dealers Association convention.

Kona was chosen based on research that revealed a growing number of BMW owners on the Big Island, particularly on the Kona side.

"Our immediate concern is to address the present owners on the Big Island," he said. BMW has to make special arrangements for owners without ready access to a dealership and service center. Some owners needing service have shipped their cars to Oahu.

The company earlier established BMW of Maui, a satellite dealership in Kahului to address such needs on the Valley Isle.

"BMW has become so popular that we have to provide service and warranty work through an authorized ... facility," Short said.

The Big Island dealership will have six bays for service work "and we will be able to display the full BMW lineup in the showroom," he said. "We plan on it being a landmark building."

The architecture will be in keeping with Hawaii architectural style, "but it will be a very prominent building, like the building on Kapiolani (Boulevard)," he said.

The building is in the planning stages. Short hopes to have BMW of Hawaii up and running in early 2006.

What a scoop

Maui's Roselani Ice Cream kicks off its Ohana Bucket, a five-quart plastic container of ice cream, this month with its commitment to "Lick Hunger."

The new, larger packaging for vanilla, chocolate and fudge revel was "designed with Maui's working families in mind," said Cathy Nobriga Kim, vice president.

A two-day product launch promotion is paired with a food drive to benefit the Maui Food Bank.

Folks bearing nonperishable food items who visit Ah Fook's Supermarket in Kahului Feb. 15 or Pukalani Superette on Feb. 16 between 3 and 6 p.m. will receive a free scoop of ice cream from the Ohana Bucket.

A monetary donation will also score a scoop.

Such support from businesses is "priceless," said Debra Johnson, Maui Food Bank's chief executive. "The 'Lick Hunger' slogan is so awesome," she laughed.

Roselani committed to help with food drives all year, as Kim is a former Maui Food Bank board member.

"Even though the awareness is there at certain times of the year, as you know, hunger doesn't know any season and families are hungry year round," Johnson said.

The Maui Food Bank will soon begin its spring food drive to prepare for the summer months when kids don't have the option of school breakfast or lunch or both.

"Families and individuals need food all the time in Maui County," Johnson said. "We actually ran out of food last summer. That breaks everybody's heart."