Walgreens Opens Second Full-Service Store on Maui

(Posted by Wendy Osher)

Walgreens opens its second full-service store on Maui this weekend.  The 14,820-square-foot Kahului location opens just six months after the grand opening of the Lahaina store in October.  There are also three pharmacy-only locations on Maui (two in Wailuku and one in Lahaina).  The Kahului store brings to six the total number of full-service locations in Hawaii.

Walgreens opens a second full service Maui store at the Puunene Avenue, Kamehameha Avenue intersection in Kahului. Photo by Wendy Osher.

As part of Sunday’s grand opening festivities, Walgreens will present a $5,000 donation to the American Diabetes Association of Hawaii.  The store opens at 8:30 a.m. with a blessing conducted by Kahu Kalani Wong, entertainment by recording artist Leokane Pryor, and hula performed by Hula Halau O Keola Ali`iokekai.  There will also be a live radio broadcast from Pacific Radio Group’s KPOA 93.5 FM beginning at noon.  The festivities will continue throughout the day with neighboring businesses and vendors offering free product samples and demonstrations.

“We’re taking another step toward our goal of having a full network of drugstores to serve residents and visitors of the Islands,” said Dana Psomas, Walgreens Hawai‘i district manager, noting that Walgreens plans to eventually open 25 to 30 stores in Hawai‘i. “This location includes a double-lane drive-thru for the pharmacy, our first on Maui. This is just another way we can provide more convenience and value to Hawai‘i residents.”

The Kahului Walgreens is located at the corner of Kamehameha and Puunene Avenues.  Hours of operation will be from 7 a.m. to midnight seven days a week.  The store’s pharmacy will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays.

The new store will have the following features and services:

• Prescription refills available the same day; automatic ordering of medication refills; and multi-language prescription labels that allow patients to read their medication directions in any of 14 different languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Tagalog and Vietnamese.
• Electronic connection to all Walgreens pharmacies across the country. This makes a patient’s prescription information available at any Walgreens when they’re traveling and have a pharmacy need.
• Flavoring that can be added to liquid medicines that take the “yuck” out of the medicine’s taste for children. Walgreens offers 11 different flavors.
• Enrollment in the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club, which offers a 90-day supply of more than 400 generic medications for less than $1 a week. The club also offers savings on more than 3,000 brand name drugs and all generic medications.
• A report that lists Medicare Part D plans and manufacturer discount plans for which a pharmacy patient may be eligible. The report can be customized for the medications an individual patient takes and helps them choose the most cost-effective program.

Walgreens opened its first Hawai‘i full-serve store near Keeaumoku Street, on Oahu, in November 2007.  Since then, Walgreens has opened four other full-service stores: Kaneohe in November 2008; Kalihi in January 2009; Kailua in May 2009; and Lahaina in October 2009.
Walgreens has also opened four pharmacy-only locations in Hawai‘i.  The Maui pharmacy-only sites opened in Lahaina and Wailuku in January 2009 and an Oahu pharmacy-only site in Waipahu opened in April 2009.