Whole Foods Market

cheese and shredded pig flesh in the cilantro at the burrito stand; a piece of chicken in the clearly labeled VEGAN chicken salad. Always crowded.

Located in the Kahala Mall Shopping Center, this location is quite busy. There does not seem to be a time where it is not packed. Parking is available in the covered parking garage and has the option to park on the open upper level as well. The hot bar had a few vegan options, there is a cold bar and soups available as well. I was unable to find the fresh baked vegan chocolate chip cookies in the bakery so I'll try again one day. There is outdoor seating and limited indoor setting.

A year ago, my first visit to this WF, I was impressed by the veg options on the hot bar and in the baked goods section. But, on a recent visit, there were few hot options and, literally, no vegan baked goods. I was told that this was due to a current renovation, and the resulting lack of space forced cutting out some offerings. But, absolutely no vegan baked items?! It is a WF, so, of course, there are some veg items available but remarkably little, really. Speaking of shelf space, I have been in many WFs around the country and have never seen so much space devoted to beer, wine and even hard liquor as in this WF. Seeing all that liquor in a WF was a strange sight. The rest of the visit, I just kept going to Down to Earth, a few miles away and, although, much smaller, much more veg friendly.

A good smaller sized whole foods. They have a good hot bar area and vegan prepared foods. For being on island time, this location attracts speed shoppers. Down to earth is way more relaxed.

YES! I am visting from Seattle and was glad to see a Whole Foods in the area. I did have to drive to find it, but there is also a good transit system on the island and that would have gotten me there as well. It was a bit smaller than the one I'm used to in the Seattle/Bellevue WA area, but stocked with most of the usually popular items. Could not find my yacon syrup though. There are several other markets on this site that advertise organic foods so I won't say this is the only game in town, but I was happy to see the locally (Hawaii) grown produce prominently displayed at the entrance, with the California grown produce further back (I like to support the local farms whenever possible). The store is located in a newer strip mall with ample parking. Overall, not the best Whole Foods experience ever, but certainly a great addition to this area.