HONOLULU — Ewa Beach residents have been pleading for another grocery store in their neighborhood since Star Market closed two months ago.

Merchants said the Ewa Beach shopping center has been a ghost town since Star pulled out, and the lack of foot traffic has hurt their businesses. Foodland is now the only supermarket in the area, located about a mile and a half from the shopping center.

Residents and merchants have come up with their own solution — a new Ewa Beach farmers market in the old Star parking lot, open seven days a week.

“We really hope it is going to help a lot of the elderly who have been calling our office, saying that the loss of Star Market prevents them from getting a lot of the fresh produce that they were able to get. See, some of them can’t drive too far or walk too far, so having produce here is going to help them a lot,” Rep. Kimberly Pine, Ewa Beach, said.

The Star market location is expected to become a Long’s Drug Store in about eight months.

Some residents said there is still a need for another supermarket to serve Ewa Beach’s 50,000 residents.

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