Construction on the future Royal Hawaiian Center (Honolulu) retail store has been in-progress for over a year, and yet the store is still not ready for a grand opening. Mainland and island sources confirm that the delay is due to the storefront siding, which Apple’s architect specified as lava rock to complement the tropical setting. However, Apple’s contractor bumped into a problem with the nearly-black, rectangular stones that were installed last May–there weren’t enough available from the island of Oahu to finish the enormous exterior walls. Since it’s taboo to move native rocks between islands, Apple couldn’t bring in additional rocks and was stuck with a partially-finished outer wall for the store. The alternatives were not attractive: change to a more artificial material such as concrete, or bring in lava rock from Guam or the Philippines. The installed siding was removed, and tipsters say a replacement shipment of lava rock is now enroute, but won’t speculate on how soon the store will open. Meanwhile, the hired and trained staff is working at the island’s other two stores until their own store opens.
Thanks to Bruno for this mid-August photo of the Royal Hawaiian Center store.
