Jewel or Juice
When COVID-19 hit, small family-owned smoothie shop Jewel or Juice had to reduce business operating hours by 35%. Sales dropped by over 50%, but energy costs remained the same, as their fridges and freezers still had to remain on 24/7. Energy Relief Grant funding allowed them to upgrade their fridges and freezers to more efficient models.
Chris Chan, Owner of Jewel or Juice, said, “The unexpected Covid-19 pandemic has had serious financial impact to our business since March of 2019. We had to close our shops during the two stay-at-home orders and even when open our sales have been down. As a smoothie shop, freezers and refrigerators are very important to the business. In fact, some of our freezers and fridges were already due for new replacement, but we didn’t really have enough money to purchase new ones. Fortunately, we heard about Hawai’i Energy’s Energy Relief Grant in August 2019 and we were able to apply for the grant to purchase new freezers and refrigerators for our business. These are not only brand new, but all are ENERGY STAR® certified, which save energy and also use environmentally friendly refrigerant. We’re glad that our new equipment will save us energy costs in the long run and will help achieve emissions reductions to reduce air pollution and protect the climate. We’re very thankful that Hawai’i Energy awarded the Energy Relief Grant to our business during this difficult time. It means a lot to us. This has helped us to keep our business stay open and continue to provide jobs for our employees. Mahalo to Hawai’i Energy for making this happen!”
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