Friendly Market Center

I never understand tourists who come to a place like Molokai and then expect a Whole Foods or a Publix. Duh, people. It’s and island with 8000 people. With that said I was satisfied with the selection. Yeah, some prices are high. Strawberries for $ 12.95? Yikes! But go with the flow. Got some great fresh ahi, and the next day mahi mahi. Wine selection wasn’t bad at all. In fact, Woodbridge wines were on sale for $ 5.69! Not bad anywhere. Better than Misaki’s. Get the basics. Go to your place. Drink wine. Relax. Slow down. It’s Molokai…

This place is what a grocery store needs to be, unchanged, as the rest of the world advances, keeping everything you need at the fore front, without anything unnecessary added to the grocery buying process.
I remember coming here as a child, and everyone knows everyone here. The people are nice, friendly, and always working to give you product and services quickly, in and out.

What a hilarious store. It’s a huge mess. Pretty fun to shop for groceries in here, though they are expensive. Where else are you going to go?! Try not to get run over by a cart full of produce.

Well, you don’t have many shopping options in town and Friendly has the best selection, however, it is noisy, chaotic and the goods are weirdly dispersed throughout the store, adding to the chaos even more. We’ve been three times and the checkers were all great with friendly dispositions though the store itself is quite dilapidated.
There are a ton of complaints about the prices (in every guidebook and everyone you talk to) however I found that the prices were only bad on SOME items. For instance, a bag of Thomas bagels was seven dollars (yes, seven) however a celery was 1.50 and a single onion .50, a gatorade was 2.00, and a large Fleischmanns vodka 1.5 liter 12.00, so you just have to be CAREFUL what you pick up. It’s possible to shop here quite economically if you pay attention to what is going in your cart. I learned this the hard way but hopefully you won’t have to!

Our fourth visit to Molokai and we continue to love Friendly Market. They have an amazing supply and variety and if you look hard enough you will find what you need or at least that will work. The most impressive fact tho is the staff. plenty of them, universally friendly, and know their stuff. Yes it’s different than the mainland and in every way better.

Friendly Market is great because the folks that work there are great ! They went above and beyond to help me find something (lost sun glasses!), while I was there for Na Wahine O Ke Kai. As busy as they were with all the wahine in town, they took the time to provide personal & helpful service in «all out facility search» for the missing glasses. We found ‘em ! Very much appreciated. Mahalo Patti D

In the ordinary world, this might seem like a total dirty dive but in the island of Moloka’i, it is truly a grocery store.
Please make sure you check out your items before you purchase them… almost everything we bought was expired. Almost everything. The beer, the frozen meat, the chips, the sauce… that is ok. We didnt die.
They had a decent selection of food… on most days. We found that the meat and fresh selection dwindled quickly… but that could have been because there are not a lot of options on the island for food. :)
Make sure you bring your bags! They do not provide them.

As far as food shopping goes on Molokai– this is the staple. Yes prices are high– and no we don’t eat like we used to because of budgets. Molokai is very unique and Friendly Market is no different. You will be able to see nearly the whole islands population if you a worked there or b stayed in the store long enough– nearly everyone has to go there sometime for supplies.
It is really great to get BBQ or other camp grill supplies to eat there. Homestyle prepared food ready for the BBQ! can’t beat it– there just is not enough competition to beat it.
If you do live there longer– then you will be able to take advantage of some of the sales that they have — it felt like monthly but not all the time.
Go there just to get what you need and be happy with the things they have — everything has to be flown or brought in somehow and it all costs money.

Great selection for the locale. The store was well stocked, had many employees who were working diligently, and the selection was top notch for the type of area it was in. I mean who expects to find a lot at the market in the country? The prices were comparable to Honolulu so that was a pleasant surprise. If you are in need of groceries on Molokai, look no further than Friendly Market Center.

Everything is relative. In Molokai this store stands out. In most mainland stores it would be just above a dive. Produce is just adequate with very limited selection. Same for meat although we found fresh caught fish and domestically raised beef. Prices are high by most standards except on Molokai.

Cleanest on the island, and that’s NOT saying much cuz it is dirty and cluttered.
Staff runs around like children playing tag, catch with the produce, and swearing.
Cashiers don’t know BASIC customer service. They rarely smile unless u get a rare good mood. They rarely look u in the eye and wen they do its to let u kno u are bothering them and they just want to get it over with.
They don’t take feedback well, instead they make a joke of it and encourage staff misbehavior.
U can’t get this bad without poor management, and the staff is proof.
Clean it up, organize it and get new staff. Look at foodland, Safeway, wal mart… Professionals!

Cleanest and best place to shop on Molokai. It is much smaller than the average supermarket but I love its charm. The store caters to the locals taste which I don’t mind because I like the food! You can fresh poke any day and usually fresh fish too. The produce is limited and expensive but other than kumu farms its the only place I can get fruits and veggies. It is way more expensive than the mainland and Oahu. For example approximately $ 6 – 7 for a bag of chips and $ 7 for a small container of strawberries. But with limited options I am grateful to have FMC.

I like this place a lot.
Everyone is definitely friendly here, and since I live at the hotel this is the only place where I can get my grociery needs. It’s a bit cheaper than Misaki’s, and a lot spacier and provides a much wider variety of products.
They also have the Diamond Head Brand Strawberry soda I’ve been craving lately. They have my salad needs, snack needs, and again I can’t be biased on the pricing because everything is 15−20% more expensive than what I’m used to on the mainland.
I’d say it is pricey for what you get but again I can’t be biased with price.
Taking everything into perspective, everything is organized, the signs are readable, and has everything I need to shop for so far.
My only gripe is the lack of service if you buy a lot of things from here; they charge for bags, but have boxes outside. It would be smarter as the customer to bring your own grociery bags to cater for your packing needs!
I have no complaints thus far besides that. I’m a fan!

One of the two supermarkets on Molokai. Good selection overall of products & produce. Plenty of local ingredients and friendly staff. Fell in love with 808 Lychee vodka distilled from local Hawaiian pineapples! Also comes in POG [Passion Orange Guava], Pineapple, Coconut, Mango and Pure vodka flavors at around $ 14/​bottle. Definitely the Friendly island :)

Did you know that the average cost of a gallon of milk in Hawaii is $ 8? EIGHT FREAKING DOLLARS!
I learned this little detail when we were shopping at Friendly Market Center. We had walked into another supposed grocery store down the street but it felt more like a 99 Cent store than a place you’d buy, you know, food.
So anyhoo… we ended up at this store and were surprised to find everything we needed and then some. It was very well stocked for a small store in a small town on a relatively uninhabited island. (Go late Wednesday/​early Thursday… the barge carrying fresh supplies from Oahu comes every Wednesday morning.)
So… the milk… I found this out because I was handed a pile of food stamps to supplement my future purchase. Apparently this is something the state government does, or so the lovely clerk explained to me.
Great place! Do all your Molokai food shopping here! :)