State’s First Village Post Office to Open at Hanzawa’s

Hanzawa’s, courtesy photo USPS.

By Wendy Osher

The US Postal Service will open its first Village Post Office in the state this week at Hanzawa’s Variety Store in Haʻikū on the island of Maui.

Village Post Offices are owned and operated by third party businesses and “complement the Postal Service’s own network” of service locations.

“As a Village Post Office, Hanzawa’s will add the two most frequently purchased postal products and services–Forever stamps and Priority Mail flat rate products–to its variety of general merchandise,” said Duke Gonzales with the US Postal Service communications division in Honolulu.

Customers will be able to purchase stamps, ship domestic Priority flat rate boxes, and drop-off mail and prepaid packages at Hanzawa’s.

A grand opening celebration event is scheduled to take place this Thursday, Feb. 6, at 1 p.m., and will include participation from Haʻikū Postmaster Tom Cooley, Hanzawa’s Manager Darren Jones, and USPS Honolulu District Manager Greg Wolny.

“The Haʻikū Post Office serves such a large area that some of our customers must make a long drive to get to our office,” said Cooley in a USPS press release.  “The Hanzawa VPO is located near the edge of our service area, so customers in that area now have the option to purchase stamps and mail Priority flat rate boxes from them, rather than having to make the long trip to the Haʻikū Post Office,” which is located at 770 Haʻikū Road.

The Hanzawa’s Variety Store is located at 1833 Kaupakalua Road, about a 4.3 mile trek from the Haʻikū Post Office, which can take about 10 minutes to travel by car.

“The VPO provides us with an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with a small business and the community it serves while generating additional revenue,” said USPS VPO Coordinator Nancy Wong.

According to Wong the USPS already operates 500 Village Post Offices around the nation, and is “actively seeking other small businesses on Maui and across the state that we can partner with to open additional Village Post Offices.” Interested businesses are asked to contact their local postmaster for more information.

Hanzawa’s is open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on holidays.