Number One Store

I came here a few times with my kids during a recent visit to Hawaii. We only bought orange juice, apple juice, ice cream, and some watermelon-​shaped candy near the register, so I can’t say we fully tried the store’s selection. As other reviewers have mentioned, the owners are extremely nice people.

I love this store! Growing up living in the valley this was always a stop going out, or sometimes even coming in.
My favorite thing about this store is not only the people who work there. They are super friendly, but OH MY GOSH! Have you ever tried the musubi’s that they make?!? Oh lord you have no idea how delicious they are if you haven’t lol. It’s like a Teri musubi, I’m sorry it’s making my mouth water at the moment LOL. No but seriously they make the best! They also have poke for 7.99 in the freezer sometimes up front, and it’s previously frozen, they put lots of onions just how I like it. I’ve seen the marinated meats and what not but I haven’t tried it yet, I’m sure they’re delicious as well. That’s next on my list.
All in all, you’ll love this mom and pop store, ps. They open a little later on Sunday’s because they go to church :)

I come here for one thing: their marinated meats. It’s super convenient that I just walk the two blocks to stop by and pick up meats for BBQ’ing at home.
I surprised many friends and guests when I’ve hosted BBQ’s at my place and brought out these delicious meats, kalbi and BBQ chicken and while everyone was asking where I got this I would open up Unilocal and show them the storefront. They looked at me in disbelief.
The shop owner is really nice and I’ve been here on at least four occasions and the meats have always been perfectly marinated and cooked up great. If you’re looking to grab some protein to grill for yourself or at the beach, stop by here and you won’t be disappointed.

Everyone needs a Number One Store in their life. A store well stocked with munchies, matches for your BBQ, random pantry items and of course ice cold ones for Pau Hana.
I see that they also carry Flamingo Pies, kegs for your kegerator, ready made bentos and musubis.
My husband and I enjoy their selection of beer which includes microbrews we’ve been wanting to try. Prices are fair and service is friendly. Parking is easy. And the best part is its only a 3 minute walk from our house!

Exploring through Kaimuki and Palolo Valley keeps me akin to my neighborhood and everything there is in the community. With that said, I did not know of this marketplace until I went for a run on a crisp weekday afternoon recently. The store itself was on the first floor of what looks like a residential complex that stood in its own lot, complete with a private parking lot for customers. What caught my eye to this place was an advertisement sign for Budweiser beer. A pack of 30 for $ 24.99. At first thought, that is probably a great deal. Located on 10^th Avenue @ one of the gateways to Palolo Valley, this mom and pop store can be the one stop shop for those of the community who doesn’t want to drive all the way to Waialae Ave and beyond for simple groceries and the like for daily activities.
With that in mind, I stepped into this store, expecting what I thought was a miniature version of a 7-​Eleven that had carved out a small niche in Palolo. It’s great to have more competition, especially on this side of the island. It’s basically a small store, but it has mostly all the basic conveniences you would expect. Cold beverages and snacks. The basics that you would want. Granted that the sale of beer would motivate anyone to come into the store and just clean house, but this charming store is cool. The ambiance feels like any of those small mom and pop convenience stores around the island — notably in Kalihi, Chinatown, and Waipahu, among others.
You kind of feel trapped and confined here, due to the size, but it has its quirks and its a good store to patronize. The prices here are competitive as its just like anywhere nowadays. Basically, its location, location, location: you wouldn’t want to drive further than you need to for stuff you can get in your community store. You get that strong Palolo pride shopping here, reminiscent of community support and local flavor especially when you support small businesses and local merchants.
Only issue for me coming here is the fact that I would have to be out on a run into Palolo Valley to come here to shop. Other than that, you have 7-​Eleven nearby around the corner, along with Kahala Mall shopping center about a mile away and Kaimuki Shopping Center a few blocks down. Maybe that local personal touch is what’s missing when you go to a corporate retail outlet. That smile on your face when they do actually appreciate coming to your place of business, especially when its easier to go to another place to shop and spend.
They also have marinated assorted meets for BBQ and the like. Perfect for days you want to cook, but dont want to do the entire thing from scratch. Nice to come here for those parties and get togethers for this kind of thing, rather than getting everything at Costco & Walmart. It will be out of your way to come to Kaimuki, but the owner there is very friendly and the service is great! May be cash only, since I didn’t ask if they took credit cards or not. Thankfully I had cash on me at that time and hauled that beer case with me ½ a mile to the house in my running gear. Needless to say, I wasn’t running that time.
Support local!
B

Owner is very friendly but some of his stuff is outdated. I bought a can of Pepsi and it tasted like carbonated water, no cola taste… when I looked on the bottom of the can the date had expired. On another occasion I bought a package of ramen it too was expired.

Gotta support my local neighborhood grocery store. This is my go to place for pretty good marinated kalbi. I think its the king kalbi type because I did not see any bone. Looks on this is deceiving as it don’t look good, but the thing is pretty tastey and the meat is soft. they get chicken and bbq meat, but never tried those yet.