The U.S. Postal Service recently confirmed it has awarded a temporary contract to a vendor to operate the Keauhou Post Office at Keauhou Shopping Center.
The contract, which is valid through the end of November, was awarded to mother-daughter business partnership duo Juslyn and Chelsey Ikeda. The Ikedas will operate the Keauhou Contract Postal Unit (CPU) as the USPS continues to review “long-term options for serving customers of that facility,” a USPS spokesman told West Hawaii Today.
The Ikedas are the owners of Suite Possibilities, and bring extensive experience in mail-handling services, according to a press release from the Keauhou Shopping Center.
“We are excited to have fellow community members like Juslyn and Chelsey to serve the community,” said Colene DeMello, general manager at Keauhou Shopping Center. “We would like to thank the community for their patience during the USPS selection process. If you need a post office box and can’t get one in town, the Keauhou Post Office has rentals available.”
Staffed by Suite Possibilities, the Keauhou CPU will be open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. The staff will be able to assist the public with all aspects of postal services, including purchasing stamps and mail-out of boxes.
Contract postal units (CPUs) are not U.S. Postal Service facilities, but rather are supplier-owned or supplier-leased sites operated by private vendors, under contract to the Postal Service to provide postal products and services to the public at USPS prices.
The Keauhou Contract Postal Unit closed for several hours in April after the contract holder was unable to extend his lease with the shopping center. Though the USPS initially said hundreds of customers would have to get their mail at the Holualoa Post Office, an interim arrangement was reached keeping the Keauhou site open.