Inside Lahaina’s New Gathering Space

At 8 a.m. on Oct. 26, 2024, a crowd of over 100 people hovered around the TVs at Coco Deck Kitchen + Bar in West Maui. Chef and co-owner Alvin Savella put a blast out on social media announcing the restaurant would be opening early that day to show the Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway UFC match. Holloway, of Native Hawaiian descent, was the favorite to win. (He was knocked out in the third round.)​​

Coco Deck opened on Front Street in Lahaina on Sept. 5, 2024, in the space formerly occupied by Duckline, a high-end Asian-fusion restaurant started by Coco Deck’s owners. The restaurant had only been open 10 months when wildfires ravaged Lahaina.

Instead of reopening Duckline, the owners something new, something inviting to all.

With its warm, casual setting, Coco Deck is a place for both adults and kids to play. Inside the restaurant, diners can feel at ease amid the laid-back vibes. There’s a playroom for keiki, and the menu features family-friendly dishes inspired by Asian and Latin American influences.

With its warm, casual setting, Coco Deck is a place for both adults and kids to play.
Photo: Courtesy of Coco Deck Kitchen + Bar/Savannah Glasgow

“We just felt that Lahaina needed something different now,” Rob Farrell, co-owner and general manager recalls. “We wanted to do something a little bit more affordable. Everybody’s going to be rebuilding, and so we wanted to do that first and foremost for our community. But then we wanted to create a different vibe and a fun atmosphere for everybody as well.”

Located across the street from Safeway, near the border of where the wildfires came to a stop, the neighborhood has an air of sorrow. People here remember what was and recognize the struggles that lie ahead. Coco Deck’s sister restaurant, Mala Ocean Tavern, is across the street; after the wildfires, it was the first restaurant in Lahaina to reopen, on Feb. 1, 2024.

Coco Deck Kitchen + Bar welcomes the community back to Lahaina.
Photo: Courtesy of Coco Deck Kitchen + Bar/Erika Meadows

Despite the closed road out front and the desolate remains, the area is still undeniably beautiful. The view of Lānaʻi and Molokaʻi is the same and the sunsets are still vivid. Savella says a nearby park where kids practice football recently reopened, the Lahaina Cannery is planning a comeback and some of the other neighboring businesses are starting to return as well.

“Lahaina has lost so much,” Savella says. “We wanted a place that felt like everyone could just go and hang out. … We wanted this to be the hub.”

And it’s becoming just that, thanks in part to its high-value happy hour. Every day from 2 to 5 p.m. guests can enjoy $5 margaritas, $3 crispy queso tacos, half off select appetizers and more. Cocktails are crafted with quality ingredients, which are sourced locally when possible. There’s the Make Your Rita, a design-your-own margarita made with agave instead of simple syrup; a horchata-flavored piña colada served in a coconut shell; a mai tai topped with thick pineapple foam; and an espresso martini flavored with house-made Mexican mole bitters.

The restaurant’s cocktails are crafted with quality ingredients, which are sourced locally when possible.
Photo: Courtesy of Coco Deck Kitchen + Bar/Savannah Glasgow

A similar sense of playfulness and creativity flows into Savella’s food menu. The Lahaina-born chef spent more than a decade living in Los Angeles, where he went to culinary school and cooked professionally for 10 years. His menu beautifully marries Mexican cuisine with classic Hawaiʻi dishes.

The birria ramen is a must, and you’ll want to add on those queso tacos. Think spicy birria broth, unctuous chunks of braised brisket and beef mingling with ramen noodles, shredded cabbage, an onsen egg and gooey fried tacos for dipping. Savella’s twist on a classic Tijuana Caesar salad includes fried Brussels sprouts, pickled red onion and chorizo vinaigrette. And you can’t leave without a crispy poke doughnut. The fried shoyu-glazed doughnut topped with fresh ‘ahi poke, spicy mayo and pickled ginger wasn’t Savella’s idea—his business partners talked him into it—but it’s now one of Coco Deck’s signature dishes.

The crispy poke doughnut is a signature dish.
Photo: Courtesy of Coco Deck Kitchen + Bar/Erika Meadows

For sports-loving guests, the best thing about Coco Deck might just be the front room of the restaurant, where families can gather. There’s a comfy couch that fits six and plenty of large tables set in front of a giant flat-screen TV that covers almost an entire wall. Here, parents can watch a game while their kids play a few feet away in an area stocked with games, books, toys and even a chalkboard.

“I have a daughter and a little boy on the way,” Farrell says, “and my partner, Caleb [Hopkins], has a couple of kids. So, that was important to us as well, to create a little keiki zone and do something for families, have a margarita and let the kids go play.”

Playfullness and creativity flows into the food menu.
Photo: Courtesy of Coco Deck Kitchen + Bar/Jennifer Reed

Pro tip: Come early to enjoy this family-friendly setting. Once groups score the couch they tend to stay awhile. Savella remembers a day during the restaurant’s first week when a group of guys from San Francisco stayed on the couch for nine hours, relaxing and enjoying cocktails with their games. That’s just the vibe.

1312 Front Street, Lahaina, cocodecklahaina.com