Secret Santa Gift of $1,000 Matched by Pukalani Superette, Paid Forward to Customers on Christmas Eve

The spirit of giving came to life at Maui’s Pukalani Superette when a “Secret Santa” stopped by the local grocery store on Christmas Eve and made an anonymous $1,000 donation to pay for customers as they check out.

The story was shared on the store’s Facebook page after a busy day of holiday shopping.

“The store was busy. Customers were picking up catering orders and buying last minute items. Multiple people were looking for cranberry sauce, but we were out,” according to the post.⁣

“Around midday an individual came in and gave us $1,000 cash with the request that they remain anonymous and to pay for customers as they check out, preferably not tobacco or alcohol,” the store shared online. “We talked about how there used to be a post office and how even though most call it Puk Sup, our store is also called Pukerette (which by the way is adorable and reminds us of a pokemon). ⁣”

The small, locally owned business reported that they took the money and turned it into smaller bills to make it easier to complete their mission.⁣
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“In that moment, we decided that if one of our customers found it possible to do this, we as a company should be able to do something too. We turned around and took out $1,000 from our own safe to match the anonymous donation. Now we had $2,000 total to spread a little Christmas cheer,” the business shared.

Managers reportedly monitored check out lines and intervened when they cold to pay part of customer tabs.

“Our cashiers had gave signals to help us distribute. We didn’t get everyone that came through our doors, but we spent the entirety of our combined donation on our customers,” the post read.

Customers showed their appreciation in comments including one patron who called it “such a happy aloha moment.” Another longtime customer who received a $10 bill expressed appreciation for the “huge gesture of generosity they showed their customers,” noting that they chose to support the “little locally owned market” over the conveniences of a big box store.

Pukalani Superette reflected on the day in their online post saying: “⁣⁣To the anonymous secret Santa, thank you for restoring our faith in humanity today. Your selfless act helped pay for groceries for so many. We hope that we recognize you the next time you’re in the store… it’s so hard with the mask situation… please know that we won’t ever forget today. We wish you the best this Christmas and hope that you’ll at least let us know who you are so that we can give you a giant hug when we’re finally allowed to do stuff like that again.”