WAIKIKI, Hawaii -- Sidney Kosasa, founder of Hawaii's ABC Stores empire of convenience stores that cater to tourists, died in his home Nov. 17 at age 86.
Kosasa and his wife, Minnie, opened the first of more than 70 ABC Stores on Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki in 1965. The chain includes five stores in Las Vegas.
The son of first-generation Japanese immigrants, Kosasa grew up working in his parents' grocery store in Honolulu and earned a pharmacy degree at the University of California at Berkeley in 1942, according to a report [image-nocss] in the Pacific Business News.
During World War II, Kosasa was sent to a relocation camp, where he married his wife. After a year at the camp, he got a job at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis and returned home to Hawaii after the war.
In 1949, the Kosasas opened their own drug store in Kaimuki, and a chain followed shortly thereafter.
The idea for ABC Stores came during a trip to Miami Beach, where Kosasa watched visitors shopping local convenience stores instead of the higher-priced hotel shops. He brought the same idea to Hawaii, which today is home to 55 of the 70 ABC stores.
The business has since been passed down to their youngest son, Paul, who helped expand the store chain to Guam, Saipan and Las Vegas. In addition to his wife and son, Kosasa is also survived by son Thomas, daughters Susan Kosasa and Gloria Gainsley, and five grandchildren.
CSP sends its condolences to Kosasa's family.
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