( Picture of owner on right-Mike Primel and Nigel Foster -left ...on one of his visits to our store.) East of Maui Kayaks and Hawaiian Store is a locally owned and operated business in Charleston, South Carolina. It was founded and began operations in 2002 by Mike and Denise Primel. Previously, Mike’s career path was in Quality Control and Customer Service in the Automotive, Marine, and Furniture industries. Denise was a top performing Sales Representative. We started with our location on Folly Road in James Island because we saw a need for a kayak outfitter that had a large selection of high quality and competitively priced kayaks, paddles, and accessories for a wider range of paddlers than what was currently available in the area. Mike is an avid kayaker and before opening the store, spent a considerable amount of time at other outfitters looking for equipment that should be readily available but just wasn’t carried in stock. After making the decision to start the business, Mike and Denise went on one of their visits to Hawaii for a vacation. Well, for whatever reason, they spent more time in the surf shops and boutiques there than they ever had on previous visits there and it struck them at the wonderful, unique merchandise that Hawaii has to offer. So, on the flight home, a plan was hatched to make East of Maui what is probably a true “one of a kind” business. Instead of carrying the usual kayak outfitter sidelines of, what we felt, were overpriced fishing shirts, hiking boots, trendy footwear, and down-filled parkas (who needs a down filled parka in South Carolina?), we made a decision that we would bring the fabulous Aloha Spirit that Hawaii has to offer to the Lowcountry of Charleston! So, we began the long search for the highest quality suppliers of Hawaiian goods on the islands. Along the way, we made many good friends and valuable contacts. East of Maui now carries Hawaiian  goods previously unavailable on the East Coast. Our prime business directive is simple… “Provide the best merchandise along with the best customer service possible”. We pride ourselves on spending time with each customer to help them make the right decision in their purchase. We always inform the customer of the advantages and disadvantages of each type of kayak. The last thing we want is for a customer to purchase a boat that is not suited to their needs. We encourage each customer to spend some time talking with us and really looking at each models design, outfitting, quality of build, etc. Actually, a very large percentage of our business is not only from repeat customers, but also from referrals from our loyal customers. That is very important to East of Maui and we intend to keep the trust of each and every customer we have!