There’s no place like home. But for Lahaina’s Victoria Doan and her family, home wasn’t their house — it was their business, Lahaina Jewelry. It was the oldest mom-and-pop-owned jewelry store on Front Street.
“The store was more like our home,” said Tina DeLima, Doan’s daughter. They’re talking about when Tina and her two siblings were young.
“Like literally, grew up in this store,” DeLima said.
“Sometimes they sleep and eat in the store,” Doan recalled.
“‘Cause she was open seven days a week, 10 till 10 every day, for 365 days. Like, she never closed,” DeLima laughed.
Doan came to the U.S. as an 18-year-old refugee from Vietnam, with no money. Her husband worked as a taxi driver and Doan sold costume jewelry, upgrading when she could.
“I try to work hard,” Doan said. “So when I make a little bit money, I buy one more piece of silver, and when I make more money, I buy one piece of gold. So I that’s how I start my fine jewelry business.”
The business grew, and their store next to Kimo’s was bustling, busy, and full of community for more than 30 years.
Doan said it always felt warm and friendly.
“Front Street, you don't have to advertise,” she said. “You don't have to do anything. You open the door. You see the people. Sometimes you not even open the door. They knock the door already. Even nighttime, about 9 ‘o clock, we try to close the door, people still walk in.”
All that changed with the 2023 wildfire. Their family was safe, but they lost everything in the store, along with Doan’s home nearby.
DeLima said they didn’t have merchandise insurance, and nothing of value was recovered from the ashes.
“We tried to sift through all of the debris just to see if we could find any jewelry pieces, because we had a lot of inventory — a lot,” DeLima said. “We probably had close to $2 million worth of inventory that was in that shop.”
With Front Street rebuilding likely years away, they grappled with their next move.
DeLima said the shop was her mom’s whole life.
“She loved to work, she loved to meet people, she loved to, you know, talk stories with people, and just help people find something special,” she said. “That was her thing.”
They decided to restart Lahaina Jewelry from scratch.
It’s been a long and challenging rebuilding journey, but they finally opened their doors this month in the newly constructed standalone building at Lahaina Cannery Mall.
The adjustment has been bittersweet for the mother-daughter duo.
DeLima scrolled through photos of the old shop on her phone: Lahaina Town Halloween parties; her mom’s signature blue moped parked out front; and DeLima’s own children practically growing up in the store like she did.
“This is our office before,” she said, pointing to a photo of the Front Street shop’s back room.
“It was tiny, it was a mess, it was crazy. It was lived in,” she laughed. “But we were there all the time. My kid actually had his first steps here.”
Now, DeLima walks around the shiny counters of the new store. It’s spacious and bright… though quiet in comparison.
But she’s grateful to be open.
“We're just fortunate that we could even rebuild, and we're looking at the future,” she said.
DeLima opens one of the glass display cases.
“We have something for everybody!” she said. “Men's jewelry, women's jewelry. You want kids jewelry, we could get you kids jewelry,” she laughed. “And we have pearls, diamonds, all gemstones, really, everything. A little bit of everything for everybody.”
They’re especially thankful for loyal customers who have helped them through the tough times.
“So many people that have come to Lahaina year after year, like they saw me grow up in the shop, and they still continue to want to support us and her,” DeLima said. “They have been really the community that we needed.”
“Without them, we cannot survive,” Doan said. “I tell you, we so fortunate.”
DeLima is also grateful for those returning local customers and friends who have been braving the recent stormy weather to stop by since their soft opening earlier this month.
They’re planning a grand opening event for April 11.
“We reopened, we want to see you in the shop, so come in and see us!” DeLima said.
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