KTA Super Stores

My family has been shopping at KTA for forever and Saturday June 11 was no exception, my sister purchased a carrot sheet cake and was in a hurry so she didn’t check it, upon reaching the party in hilo we opened up the cake box only to discover that the word Birthday was spelled BITHDAY, who mis spells that especially being in business as long as KTA has you’d think they’d have quality checks before sending out their product. As for the taste well that wasn’t the greatest either but what can you do the party is already in progress you can’t very well order a replacement. I’m so disappointed with KTA Keauhou’s Bakery we’ve never ever had a bad bakery product from any of the KTA’s until that Saturday. Thumbs down to this bakery we’re not ever going back.

Very convenient, reasonable prices, decent fish counter– try the different poke flavors! We stocked up on staples and did a lot of cooking in our vacation rental. Only four stars because I wished there was more variety of local fruits. But still, the pineapples were good. This is the place to get coffee and chocolate covered mac nuts to bring home– less expensive than souvenir shops.

Buy Local!!! Support the local Big Island economy and buy Their Mt. Apple Brand Label, products grown or made here on the Big Island. Where the locals shop!

This store is overrated (may be from dated reviews) It has definitely taken a turn for the worse since we were last in Kona 2 years ago. It is dirty, falling apart, and unkempt. The staff are fine — not friendly or unfriendly, but the state of the physical store is poor. There’s no good reason for it, and it sure makes one wonder if the fish is butchered cleanly. The selection is typical for a Hawaii grocery store. Come on KTA– we know you can do better, especially with all the tourism here.

This grocery store was close to our rental so it became our go-​to other than Costco while we were on the Big Island. They had most items that a typical grocery store in CA would have– some we could find, and other items were pretty surprised by the pricing. Other than that, it should do the trick for whatever you need on the Big Island.
The only reason I didn’t rate this a 4 out of 5 is because the customer service of staff was hit or miss and the parking is pretty horrendous unless you’re going late at night.

I sought help on Unilocal when figuring out the best place to get groceries while cruising around the Big Island. This place rated better than safeway — and I have safeway where I live — so going somewhere local was an easy choice. They have most everything that we wanted/​needed. It may not completely be a «one stop shop» but it was close enough. I felt the KTA on Hilo was better than the one in Kona, though. The Hilo side had more gourmet options (cured meats, locally made chevre). Both KTA’s had a rockin selection of poke, edamame, korean & Hawaiian pre-​marinated meats, etc. They also had a good selection of wines, beers, and spirits. Get your souvenir macadamia, salts, and even coffees here.

Good place to shop. Has a bit of everything.

My condo was right down the street, so we came here to stock up on food at the start of our vacation. The meat selection was poor. There were very slim pickings and the ones that were available didn’t look fresh. An employee told us that was the case because we were there towards the end of the day and all the good stuff was gone.
I came later in the week to buy some malasadas (Portugese doughnut) from their bakery, and they were very good. I would come back for that, but not for any meat.

A regular grocery store in Kona. Ample parking, friendly service, a decent enough selection of just about anything you’d need or want. The produce is good, the prices were good too especially considering the cost of having to import everything from the mainland.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again — I love grocery shopping. My love for this «chore for some» is at an all time high when I find myself on unfamiliar turf with new products available for me to explore and sample. While in Kona, I couldn’t stand the thought of visiting Target or CostCo, so I opted to check out the Unilocal-​recommended Japanese chain market, KTa. Our visit to the market was more like a tourist activity than your standard fill the fridge agenda item.
Highlights:
–yes, prices are high but that’s a Hawaii thing and not a KTa thing
–head to the bakery and fill a box with a variety of Hawaiian-​style pastries like Malasadas (Portuguese doughnuts), coconut turnovers, taro puffs and Macadamia nut danishes. The bakery worker was über friendly and let us try the Malasada before purchasing (I told her I was going to buy it anyways ;) –the local standing next to us insisted that Malasadas be accompanied by a cup of Kona coffee
–don’t miss the aisle filled with 15+ types of Spam — whether you like Spam or not, it’s definitely worth checking out
–fresh leis available for purchase in the mini florist section in the back left corner of the store
–try a fruit you’ve never had before — we purchased Island oranges and two different types of papaya
–you MUST NOT leave this store without picking up some pineapple salsa. Holy jamoly, I want to take some back to Indiana. It’s worth the splurge of $ 8 — I promise.
–check out the guava bread loaves — not only are they like 2 feet long but bright pink to top it off (also available as buns)

Not sure why the reviews here are 4 stars? I think for Hawaii, this is considered an «OK» supermarket. However, for «USA» standards, this market is similar to either 99 Ranch or RN Market. Everything seemed a bit dirty to me, and the staff were not very friendly. The prices are typical «Hawaii» prices, so they were not completely unreasonable.
Although, it could be fun to cook while on vacation, I think one is better off to eat out somewhere instead. The food will probably be better, and maybe even more sanitary. Luckily nobody got sick from the food at KTA, but I have my doubts on the cleanliness of the store.
Sorry to be a hater. I do love Hawaii, but felt a bit dirty at KTA.

Solid local grocery market, easy to find for tourist travelers. Interesting selection of local Hawaiian faire – which is always a plus! They’ve got fresh poké in the deli section along with the not so common dried fish Japanese snacks ad odd foods that will entertain the foodies visiting the big island.

I was pleasantly surprised by this store. They had a lot of «natural» and organic products, and they weren’t priced terribly high. Usually Hawaiian supermarkets prices and poor selection shock me.
They were cleared out of every plain yogurt option the first time we visited, but did restock in subsequent days. Decent fresh fish and meat selection, huge bakery selection and a nice selection of local products.

Local grindz… even though its a Japanese supermarket.
I prefer this spot versus the costco (ugh)
Mahalo.

This is a good one-​stop shop… liquor, bakery, deli, toiletries (including makeup and pain medication/​first aid), some local poke fish, acai juice, etc. They’re open till 11. They charge you 3 cents per grocery bag, but they give you 5 cents if you bring your own bag.

This is decent grocer with OK wine and beer prices. The dairy and produce, and some other items, were surprisingly expensive. Even local products seemed costly such as local milk, pineapples and jellies.
But the selection is quite good and you should be able to find everything you need here.

I have gotten to know KTA really well. They are a great supermarket that has almost everything I need. I’m a weird one who actually likes grocery shopping and I like going to KTA a couple times a week.
I just wish they always had the hot Hawaiian chili peppers in stock!

I’m a big fan of KTA’s bakery. The store in Keauhou seems to carry a bigger selection compared to the store in Kailua-​Kona, plus the Keauhou store seems brighter and smells cleaner.
The Mountain Apple Brand only uses locally grown, processed or manufactured products. When you study some of the items in the bakery you’ll be impressed with how pure and simple the ingredient are. You can taste the quality and it tastes home made not commercially produced.
I love KTA’s Filipino Coconut Bibingka which is like coconut mochi. They also make a butter mochi but I’ve had more buttery versions than KTA’s. The peach cobbler is very good especially after a good snorkel but keep it cool otherwise it gets a little runny. The lemon italian cream cake is like eating paradise. I wish all grocery store bakeries could be as good as KTA’s.

If I’m gonna make a list of great groceries, then I have to add this one. Toward the southern end of Ali’i Drive in the Keahou Village Shopping Center, it’s a grocery on a hillside plateau with a view of the bay. Great seafood and produce. If you’re staying at a condo in the area, this may end up being your most visited store.

Hold up. wait a gawdamn minute… the milk here costs HOW much?! AND it’s on SALE?!
Needless to say… I left with a 12 pack of beer instead.
oh. and this is for all my alcoholic hello kitty fans…
It’ll get ya drunk!