Alvin Savella vividly remembers the day he stood alongside his family on the Lahaina bypass and watched the town he grew up in burn to the ground. In less than an hour, most of the buildings in the historic port town on Maui’s north-west coast were reduced to ashes. Savella will also never forget the feelings of disbelief and hopelessness he felt. “We couldn’t do anything,” he says. “It was like a movie – you’d never believe it was real. We were thinking, ‘this can’t be happening to us’.”
But nearly two years on from the devastating wildfires of August 2023, the award-winning chef is feeling hopeful once again. “It’s starting to feel like life is being breathed back into Lahaina,” he says. “There’s a lot of housing coming up. Everyone was displaced and located in different parts of the island, so it’s nice to see people coming back into town.
“There were a bunch of restaurants on Front Street that the buildings no longer exist, but they’re trying to reopen in different areas, like Kīhei on the other end of Maui and Kahana. Everyone is trying to make their comeback.”
Before the wildfires, Savella ran a Chinese fusion/Hawaiian food restaurant called Duckine. It was one of the few buildings in the town’s main thoroughfare that survived the flames. But after the fires he decided to rebrand, with the eatery now known as Coco Deck.
“We felt like Lahaina needed a restaurant that would bring the community together, so we pivoted from being a little upscale to more casual and fun food,” he says. “We do American-style street food and we have a lot of TVs and a kids’ room. It’s more a place for the community to hang out.” Offerings include fish tacos, birria ramen, which is a Mexican street food play on Japanese ramen, and a poke donut.
Savella, who also runs Mala Ocean Tavern across the road, says restaurants like his wouldn’t be able to survive without the support of locals and tourists. “We’re seeing more tourists come back every month; it’s getting better and better for us,” he says. “We’re here, we’re making food, we’re trying to serve our community and do fun new things, even with all the tragedy that we’ve faced in the past few years.”
Hawai’i Farm Project CEO John White says he is also seeing signs of green shoots emerging, with small businesses coming back and hotels reporting more guests returning. And he says the visitors who are returning are doing so with aloha — the Hawaiian word for love, affection, peace and compassion. “Our economy is highly tourism based, so we really need that economic pillar to be working,” he says.
Hawai‘i Farm Project has a range of attractions and experiences across the island, including Maui Gold Pineapple, Maui Pineapple Tour, Maui Chocolate Tour and Lahaina Honey Company. “We had a Maui Pineapple Store in Front Street in Lahaina that didn’t make it through the fire, but in December we reopened it in a new location in Hāli‘imaile in Upcountry Maui and that’s doing really well,” White says. “It’s really been embraced by locals as well as visitors.” But White says he is hopeful of reopening in Lahaina in the future. “That’s going to be a little bit further down the road as everything gets worked out as far as rebuilding goes,” he says. “It’s a phased approach, like the Old Lahaina Lū‘au is right on the edge and they’re open and doing well. The area around the banyan tree and the harbour are going to take a little bit longer to work through, but things are progressing.”
Leanne Pletcher, who is the director of public relations and marketing at Maui Visitors & Convention Bureau, says while visitor numbers have increased, they are still around 20 per cent down on 2022 levels. “This creates a unique opportunity for visitors — less crowded beaches, exceptional travel deals and heartfelt hospitality from our community,” she says.
Pletcher says travellers are exploring all corners of Maui, from the lush farms of Upcountry to the art galleries of Wailuku and the boutiques of the historic plantation town Pā‘ia. “Each region offers something distinct and memorable,” she says. “Across the island, travellers are joining in community events such as farmers’ markets, festivals and our popular Maui Friday Town Parties — an authentic way to connect with the spirit of each local town. One of the most impactful ways to support Maui is simply by visiting.”
