Kealakekua – “KTA Express” Opens in Kealakekua

Energy-Efficient and Technically Innovative, KTA Express is Much More Than a Convenience Store

Arnold Hiura
Special to The Hawai‘i Herald

To the uninitiated, the simple green-and-white commercial building along the Hawai‘i Belt Road (or Mämalahoa Highway, if you prefer) in South Kona might not seem like such a big deal. After all, the building itself has been a familiar sight in Kealakekua for some 35 years — first as the Kamigaki Store and then as a sadly vacant site for nearly a decade.

Besides a fresh coat of paint, the structure is now distinguished by a circular white sign declaring it to be a KTA Express, which offers the first hint that there may be more lying beneath the shiny metal siding than first meets the eye.