Hana, Hawaii · Founded 1910
A fourth-generation Hāna general store founded in 1910, rebuilt in a former theater after a 1990 fire and memorialized in a Paul Weston song.
Hasegawa General Store in Hāna, Hawaii, was founded in 1910 by brothers Shoichi and Saburo Hasegawa. The Hasegawa family has continued to operate the business across four generations, supplying residents and visitors with groceries, household goods, hardware, fishing gear, and local souvenirs. After a 1990 fire destroyed the store's 1958 brick building, the family renovated the former Hāna theater and reopened there in August 1991.
Brothers Shoichi and Saburo Hasegawa founded Hasegawa General Store in Hāna.
Source: Hawaii Magazine, “Discover One of Maui’s Oldest Family-Run Businesses,” Feb. 8, 2022; Hasegawa General Store, “About Hasegawa”
Shoichi Hasegawa and his family returned to Japan, while Saburo Hasegawa continued operating the Hāna store.
Source: Hasegawa General Store, “About Hasegawa”
Toshimasa Hasegawa, Shoichi's eldest son, became manager of the store.
Source: Hawaii Magazine, “Discover One of Maui’s Oldest Family-Run Businesses,” Feb. 8, 2022; Hasegawa General Store, “About Hasegawa”
Toshimasa Hasegawa built a new brick store building, later remembered in postcards and photographs and destroyed in the 1990 fire.
Source: Hawaii Magazine, “Discover One of Maui’s Oldest Family-Run Businesses,” Feb. 8, 2022; Hasegawa General Store, “About Hasegawa”
Composer Paul Weston wrote “The Hasegawa General Store,” a song associated with the shop and later performed on Hawaii Calls by Pua Almeida.
Source: Hawaii Magazine, “Discover One of Maui’s Oldest Family-Run Businesses,” Feb. 8, 2022; Hasegawa General Store, “About Hasegawa”; Hasegawa General Store official homepage
A fire destroyed the general store and its contents; the adjacent Hasegawa gas station sustained minor damage.
Source: Hasegawa General Store, “About Hasegawa”; Los Angeles Times, “Landmark Hawaiian Store Burns Down,” Aug. 15, 1990
The Hasegawa Service Station reopened after the fire; this was separate from the later general-store reopening in the former theater.
Source: Hasegawa General Store, “About Hasegawa”
After renovating the old Hāna theater, the Hasegawa family reopened the general store in its present retail space and retained its staff through the rebuilding process.
Source: Hasegawa General Store, “About Hasegawa”; Hawaii Magazine, “Discover One of Maui’s Oldest Family-Run Businesses,” Feb. 8, 2022
The store received the Maui Family Business of the Year award, according to its official historical timeline.
Source: Hasegawa General Store, “About Hasegawa”
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Hawaii Magazine and the store's own detailed family chronology agree that Shoichi and Saburo Hasegawa founded the business in 1910 and trace later family stewardship through Toshimasa, Harry, and Neil Hasegawa. The business changed locations after the 1990 fire, but the family enterprise continued.
Hawaii Magazine calls it Maui's oldest family-owned business, and the store's own site calls it the island's oldest family-run business. The 1910 founding and four-generation Hasegawa stewardship are well supported, but this review did not locate an island-wide comparative inventory capable of establishing the title over every older family business.
Hawaii Magazine identifies Paul Weston as the composer who dedicated the 1961 song to the store. The official store site also identifies the song as a 1961 Paul Weston composition and associates it with a Hawaii Calls Orchestra and Chorus performance featuring Pua Almeida.
The evidence reviewed says Toshimasa Hasegawa constructed a new brick store in 1958, and that building was destroyed by fire in 1990. The present store is instead in a renovated former Hāna theater.
The store's official chronology records an August 14, 1990 fire and an August 1991 reopening in the renovated old Hāna theater. Hawaii Magazine independently reports that the fire left the prior store unsalvageable and quotes manager Neil Hasegawa on converting the theater into retail space.
Hasegawa General Store still occupies its original 1910 wooden building.
The store's pre-fire building was a brick structure built by Toshimasa Hasegawa in 1958. It was destroyed in the 1990 fire, and the business reopened in August 1991 in a renovated former Hāna theater.
Source: Hawaii Magazine, “Discover One of Maui’s Oldest Family-Run Businesses,” Feb. 8, 2022; Hasegawa General Store, “About Hasegawa”
The present Hasegawa General Store building was built as the Hāna Theater in 1938.
The sources reviewed establish that the current store occupies a renovated former Hāna theater, but they do not establish a 1938 theater construction date. That year should not be used without a reliable building-history source.
Source: Hawaii Magazine, “Discover One of Maui’s Oldest Family-Run Businesses,” Feb. 8, 2022; Hasegawa General Store, “About Hasegawa”
The general store reopened in February 1991 after the 1990 fire.
The official chronology says the Hasegawa Service Station reopened in February 1991. The general store reopened in the renovated old Hāna theater in August 1991.
Source: Hasegawa General Store, “About Hasegawa”
Hasegawa General Store is definitively Maui's oldest family-run business.
The store is widely described as Maui's oldest family-run or family-owned business, and its 1910 founding and four-generation family stewardship are well supported. This review did not locate a complete Maui-wide comparison of older family enterprises, so the island-wide title remains unresolved.
Source: Hawaii Magazine, “Discover One of Maui’s Oldest Family-Run Businesses,” Feb. 8, 2022; Hasegawa General Store, “About Hasegawa”
Hasegawa General Store has survived by remaining useful to a geographically isolated community while changing its physical setting when disaster required it. The store’s broad inventory reduces the need for Hāna residents to make the long trip to central Maui for small but necessary items, and its family managers retained staff and restarted operations after the fire. That combination of practical service, family continuity, and adaptability has kept the business relevant long after many comparable local stores disappeared.
Hasegawa General Store in Hāna was founded in 1910 by brothers Shoichi and Saburo Hasegawa. The family business continued through Toshimasa and Harry Hasegawa and later fourth-generation manager Neil Hasegawa. After a 1990 fire destroyed the store's 1958 brick building, the family renovated the former Hāna theater and reopened the general store there in August 1991.
Hasegawa General Store is widely described as Maui's oldest family-run or family-owned business. Its 1910 founding and four-generation Hasegawa operation are well documented, but this review did not locate a complete island-wide comparison of older family businesses. The store's claim to the single oldest title therefore remains unresolved rather than settled.
Hasegawa General Store was destroyed by fire on August 14, 1990, while the adjacent gas station suffered minor damage. The Hasegawa family kept its staff employed, used the former Hāna theater for a replacement retail space, and reopened the general store there in August 1991. The current store is not in the 1958 building that burned.
“The Hasegawa General Store” is a 1961 song written by composer Paul Weston about the Hāna shop. The store and Hawaii Magazine identify it as becoming associated with Hawaii Calls through a performance by Pua Almeida. The song helped turn a remote community general store into a recognizable Maui landmark.
5165 Hana Hwy, Hana, HI 96713
(808) 248-7079
The official store site lists hours of 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week. It carries groceries, snacks, local goods, hardware, fishing supplies, souvenirs, wine and spirits; confirm hours before a Road to Hāna visit.