Hawaii-based retail chain Hilo Hattie has boosted its business model by building a 500-square-foot hula studio, as well as meeting (halawai) rooms for the community.

The first floor of the flagship store at 700 N. Nimitz Highway is about 40,000 square feet, but none of the 25,000-square-foot sales floor was lost. “;We carved out about 2,500 (square feet)”; from the back stock area, said Mark Storfer, executive vice president and chief operating officer.

The expansion reflects the company's desire to provide customers a unique experience “;that celebrates the Hawaiian culture through fashion, song, dance and, of course, we'll continue to offer great shopping,”; said Donald Kang, chief executive officer of parent company Pomare Ltd., in a statement. The facilities opened April 1.

Hilo Hattie might be the only retailer with a kumu hula on the payroll that is working in that position.

Kale Pawai and his assistants teach beginners' classes at 9, 10 and 11 a.m. and 90-minute advanced classes, each with as many as 14 students, at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Students taking the advanced “;Essence of Hula”; course will learn an entire song and receive a completion certificate.

Tour bus-transported and car-renting tourists are likely to comprise the bulk of his students, “;but we're encouraging locals”; to come as well, Storfer said.

Hilo Hattie's travel industry partners “;love it. ... There's nothing like it in town.”; The store has added hula implements, “;which we've never carried before,”; to its merchandise mix.

Some of Pawai's Halau Na Pua Mai ka Lani students work in the store, and its studio is now the halau's hale, under an agreement with Hilo Hattie. Pawai has another halau in Japan and will teach classes in Japanese as well as English.

The Hibiscus and Plumeria meeting rooms are free for local organizations to use, “;first-come, first-served in terms of bookings,”; Storfer said. The Maile Galleria serves as a sort of overflow space for the rooms that are available from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. 365 days a year. Food service can be purchased through Hilo Hattie's third-party caterer.

Award-winning filmmaker Edgy Lee was commissioned to produce a five-minute documentary, “;The History of Hawaiian Wear,”; a study of the influence of missionaries, the merchant trade, cowboys and Hawaiian royalty on local fashions over time. Group showings are available in English, Japanese, Korean and Mandarin; otherwise the video runs continuously in the meeting rooms when they are not in use.

They can each seat 65 people banquet style or 130 in an auditorium configuration and can be joined for larger functions. For presentations, two 50-inch plasma-screen TVs are equipped with Internet access.

In the coming weeks, customers will be able to peruse museum cases containing “;historical garb and other artifacts”; from Hilo Hattie's 65-year history and possibly others from the Bishop Museum and University of Hawaii, when the rooms are open.

“;We do have some plans to bring in additional exciting attractions,”; Storfer said, but he would not divulge details. “;This is not the end of it; this is just the beginning.”;