Chelu Alynez Ent. opens at Kada Dia

Chelu Alynez Enterprises is a non-food merchandise store that sells 14/20 gold-filled jewelry, toys, and fashion accessories. (Contributed Photo)

Kada Dia in Chalan Kanoa is more than a food court as other stores also populate the everyday market.

One such stall is Chelu Alynez Enterprises, which is a non-food merchandise store that sells 14/20 gold-filled jewelry, toys, and fashion accessories.

Lilia King, who owns the store, named it after her children—Alexander, Alexis, Alessandra, Alejandrof, Alexio, Nez, and MagieRit—while “chelu” of course means “sibling” in Chamorro.

Like other tenants at Kada Dia, King opened Chelu Alynez Enterprises recently, choosing the new site beside the U.S. Postal Office because it’s in a strategic part of the island. “I choose Kada Dia Market because I believe this place is a new door for me to expand my business, to meet new and old customers again…with extra precautions of course.”

So far, she said, her most popular product are the assorted jewelry she sells at Kada Dia.

Before COVID-19, King said she peddled her products at the flea market every Saturday at the Marianas Business Plaza or the old Nauru Building in Susupe. Aside from her new location at Kada Dia, she said Chelu Alynez Enterprises has another location in her husband’s home island of Tinian.

Lilia King, who owns the store, named it after her children—Alexander, Alexis, Alessandra, Alejandrof, Alexio, Nez, and MagieRit—while “chelu” of course means “sibling” in Chamorro. (Mark Rabago)

“I also have a branch on Tinian where we sell other items like shoes, clothes, bags…non-food merchandise,” she said.

Like other businesses on island, Chelu Alynez Enterprises has suffered since the pandemic and that’s why she’s glad that Kada Dia gave her the opportunity to bring back the store. “This pandemic really affected my sales. In the beginning when the government announced that all the businesses we’re going to be on lockdown, our store had no choice but to follow. I had to close so we had no sales and no income.”

As far as following the guidelines of the COVID-19 Task Force are concerned, King said Chelu Alynez Enterprises abides by them, especially since her Kada Dia store is very small. “I have all the precaution signs at the store for customers to follow. I also have my hand sanitizers and alcohol at the front door and customers must use them upon entry. Most of all, we have a strict no-mask, no-entry policy. Also, we can only allow two persons at a time at our store because of social distancing rules.”

Chelu Alynez Enterprises is located at Kada Dia on Saipan and at the PM Building in San Jose, Tinian. The Kada Dia store is open from 10am to 6pm. For more information, call 989-2747 or reach them through their Facebook page.