It’s lunchtime and Māla Ocean Tavern is packed with excited locals and tourists. You would never think from the inside that it’s just steps away from Lahaina’s burn zone.
“When the fires first happened, we thought the restaurant was burned down," said Javier Barberi, one of the owners of the oceanside restaurant. "Then we saw it and we were like, 'Oh my God, it's not burned down, there's hope.'”
The restaurant was the first business on Lahaina’s Front Street to reopen after the fire.
But it’s been a long journey to get there.
“We thought we might be able to open the restaurant back up again soon," Barberi recalled. "Then we found out we had no power, no water and no sewer. And the entire area was blocked, barricaded off with National Guard.”
Though the building was spared, Barberi said that meant they were not able to claim insurance money.
“We serve food. That's what we do. We serve drinks, we cook, we clean," he said. "We don't know this other world of insurance and grants and applying for FEMA and SBA and all that stuff. So it's just been really difficult navigating through all of that.”
Barberi said the building suffered wind and smoke damage.
For months, they waited.
“The light at the end of the tunnel was we got power, then we got sewer," he said. "Then we got water. Then the water got cleared and it was clean. And then we're like, 'OK, guys, we're back in action!' We got to get in there, we got to start cleaning. We got to get check the equipment. We got to buy new equipment.”
They made restaurant upgrades and cleaned furiously. They set a goal of a soft opening for their local neighborhood on Jan. 30. and Māla Tavern opened to the public on Feb. 1.
“Everybody just kind of came together as a team and we were able to accomplish that," Barberi said. "And thank God we're busy and people are coming because we were so nervous that people wouldn't want to come down here because it's such a sensitive area. And I know for some people like, they're not ready to come down here yet. And that's totally fine.”
But for many, he said, they’re happy to be back. And as a business, they were ready to open their doors.
“It's been six months and for us, six months is a long time to not be open.”
But operating just feet from the ashes has its challenges.
“We have a professional cleaning company that comes in every single night and does a deep cleaning of the entire restaurant," he explained. "We use that ozone machine that we were using during COVID. We just try to do everything that we can and keep the place as clean as possible.”
Barberi said Māla employees are also thrilled to be back at work. The restaurant requests that customers be respectful and not ask staff about the fire.
“I hope the community sees this reopening and other people reopening as signs of hope and resilience,” he said.
The response to their reopening has been tremendous.
“I think it's a pretty good mix of locals and tourists that are all coming down. And just the support is overwhelming, we're so happy and we cannot be more blessed and supported by everybody.”
