Maui Fruit Jewels up for big award

Maui Fruit Jewels, a confectionery product made by Kula, Maui-based Maui Epicure LLC, has been named a finalist for a sofi, or Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation Award, at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York.

The Hana Collection Pates de Fruits is among 125 finalists selected by a national panel of specialty food professionals who sifted through 2,724 entries in 32 categories.

Lin and Chris ter Horst have been selling their Maui Fruit Jewels at the Upcountry Farmers Market for the past 18 months, where customers "have been giving us plenty of feedback … helping us to fine-tune every detail," Lin ter Horst said in a statement.

Ter Horst is a Shanghai native who has a diploma in pastry arts from Le Cordon Bleu in London as well as an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Winners of the Specialty Food Association 2014 sofi Award competition will be announced at a red-carpet ceremony June 30 in New York.

RadioShack tries to lower its rents

RadioShack Corp. CEO Joe Magnacca told shareholders last week that the company is aggressively negotiating with landlords to reduce rents while it closes 200 stores a year for the next three years.

Closing a total of 600 stores through 2016 is allowed by covenants with its bankers, who earlier shot down a plan to close 1,100 of its 4,300 company-owned stores this year.

The dispute has slowed the Fort Worth, Texas-based retailer’s turnaround efforts, Magnacca said.

"We’re having a dialogue with our lenders. We realize we have different lenders with different needs," he said. "We’ll have to live with closing up to 600 stores."

So far, RadioShack has closed 20 stores this year. The remaining 180 stores haven’t yet been identified. The selection hinges on lease negotiations and each store’s level of business.

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