"Affordable groceries to your fridge on the first day!" a Canadian visitor to Kaua`i commented in a recent online review of the Grocery Guys food delivery service.

"Shopping out of the way, I could relax and head to the beach," the visitor concluded.

Having a supply of fresh groceries – pre-selected by the client online and delivered to a condo or vacation rental for the day of a visitors' arrival – is the core concept of a new Kaua`i business partnership.

Roger Honjo, 49, and Jeremy Smith, 29, both wait tables for Dondero's Restaurant at the Grand Hyatt Kaua`i Resort in Po`ipu as their main jobs. But as self-described "ambitious guys" they were casting around for another business idea when they hit on grocery delivery.

The guys can be found online at www.groceryguys.org where clients create a shopping list from an inventory of common grocery items. You pay online with a credit card and specify when and where you want the groceries delivered.

They shop and deliver on the specified day. For now they are focusing on deliveries on the South Shore, West Side and Lihu`e, but eventually hope to deliver island wide.

"Customers have been ecstatic," Honjo says. "They say, 'Wow we don't have to shop!' "

When they get to their vacation rentals the food is already there – cereal, peanut butter and jelly, milk, juice, fruits, vegetables, meats, whatever.

Though the service may eventually include liquor delivery to of-age customers, that's not included now.

As predicted when they started this summer, the Grocery Guys main users so far are visitors. But Grocery Guys will deliver to local residents and businesses. They feel one potential market might be older residents who don't want to – or can't – get out to the store. Off-island adult children could even place orders for their folks online to make sure there are groceries in the fridge, Honjo says.

However, the price list is set and all orders are made online. The guys don't go chasing sale items for customers and can't make same-day deliveries, Honjo notes.

A $100 minimum order is required and a $10 fuel fee is charged. Tipping your grocery guy is at the recipient's discretion.

The cost for items is slightly higher than one might pay if shopping for yourself, but not disturbingly so. After all, the whole concept here is not having to go to the store.

Honjo, born and raised on Kaua`i and a graduate of Waimea High School, says people may remember him as the owner of "Forget You Not Balloons" delivery about 25 years ago, and more recently, Window Fashions custom window coverings. He and his family lived in Las Vegas for nine years, returning to Kalaheo five years ago.

Smith is originally from California and has lived on Kaua`i 10 years. He and his wife, Amanda, live in Koloa with their infant daughter.

Though there was a now out-of-business Grocery Guys on the mainland, there's no connection between that operation and the Kaua`i Grocery Guys.

As a start-up, the Grocery Guys are just seeing a few deliveries each week, but hope to become known by vacation rental owners who might recommend their service.

"Time will tell when we have good numbers to see where the balance sheet ends up," Honjo says.

"The sky's the limit," Smith says. "We're aiming to try and make this a great amenity for guests visiting Kaua`i and locals as well."

Contact Honjo at 635-4140 or roger@groceryguys.org.

Reach Diana Leone at dleone@honoluluadvertiser.com.