The word hita in Chamorro means together and that is the idea that the people at Hita Supermarket want to convey to their customers. “We don’t want to come to Guam just to make money. We are a family-oriented business and together we want to provide our customers with excellent service. We are a business but we are also part of this community ” said Matthew D. Jo general manager of Hita Supermarket.

Hita had a soft opening Nov. 10 and its grand opening Nov. 12. At the grand opening there was a huge sale vendors came in to pass out free samples and prizes were handed out to the customers.

It is located in Chalan Pago where the old Guam Supermarket used to be. Jo said “We chose to open Hita here because of its central location and because Guam Supermarket did well at this location.”

$1 million was invested into the 27 000 square-foot property made up of a warehouse of 12 000 square feet and the store of 15 000 square feet. Renovations began December 2004. Jo said that the building was in poor condition when renovations started. “It was crawling with bugs and mice and we had to replace everything from refrigeration and plumbing to the wiring and we had to repaint everything. I also believe people had been looting the abandoned building.” Since First Enterprises Corp. Hita’s parent company sells wholesale construction material on Guam it provided the construction materials and the work was subcontracted to local contractors.

Hita offers a wide variety of products including locally grown fruits and vegetables and locally caught fish. Inside there is a deli where customers are able to buy breakfast lunch and dinner. There will also be a meat display where customers may purchase freshly-cut meat.

Jo said “There is also space for outside vendors to rent. If someone wants to open a bakery or small eatery they can rent out the space from us. We are open to any suggestions.” Anyone interested in renting out the space should stop by Hita Supermarket and ask for Matthew.

In accordance with its theme of togetherness and community Hita purchases most of its products locally. “With the economy the way it is we want to help local businesses out. We will be getting most of our products from local wholesalers. As of now we will not be importing any special products. We will be studying our customers and if there is a high demand for certain products then we may start importing those products ” he said.

Intended store hours are from 6a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Payments in the form of cash checks credit and debit cards and food stamps are accepted. Hita is owned by First Enterprises Corp. with its main office located in Los Angeles Calif. This will be its first foray into the supermarket business. As of now there are no future plans to open Hita Supermarkets in other villages. MBJ