This Maui Restaurant Miraculously Survived the Lahaina Wildfires and Just Reopened

Six months ago—on Aug. 8, 2023—wildfires destroyed the historic town of Lahaina on Maui. The fires, exacerbated by dry conditions and ferocious winds, killed at least 100 people and caused widespread damage. Thousands of structures, many of them homes, were burned to the ground.

Front Street—the main roadway that follows the ocean—was destroyed, too, along with its many shops, restaurants and bars.

So imagine the shock when the owners of Māla Ocean Tavern, located on the street’s north end, found out their oceanfront restaurant survived.

“I just assumed it was gone,” remembered Ashley Davis, one of the owners, who lives near Wailuku, about 25 miles east of Lahaina.

But somehow the restaurant, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, was still standing. It suffered wind damage but was spared by the fires.

On Feb. 1, Māla Ocean Tavern reopened, the first business on Lahaina’s Front Street to reopen after the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history in more than a century.

“What was most important was that we keep our small business alive, to bring our staff back to work, and to make sure it was a safe environment,” Davis says. “We didn’t know what it was going to be like, and it has been more beautiful than I ever could have imagined, just to see how happy people are to be back at work and how happy people are to come back to Māla.”

Inside Māla Ocean Tavern on Front Street on Maui.
Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

Many of the restaurant’s staffers have returned, and the menu is virtually unchanged. It’s still serving its popular ʻahi bruschetta on flaxseed toast, coconut shrimp with garlic aioli and its signature seared ʻahi.

Brunch is back, too, a menu that started when Davis and her other three partners took over the restaurant in 2018. The menu includes Hood Canal oyster shooters, smashed avocado toast, half-pound wagyu burger, beer-battered fish and chips, and French toast topped with Kula-grown strawberries.

Much of Māla’s staff have come back to work.
Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

Like many other restaurants on Maui, Māla was still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to plague businesses in terms of rising costs and labor shortages. The wildfires set the restaurant back again.

And then there’s the community it serves. People are still grieving those that died. Thousands of residents—including some of the restaurant’s staff— are still without permanent housing. Historic buildings and sites are gone. It’s been devastating, Davis says.

The owners of Māla Ocean Tavern: From left, Caleb Hopkins, Ashley Davis, Javier Barberi and David Fincher.
Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

But the restaurant’s reopening is a sign of hope.

“Māla has been here for 20 years, and so many memories have been made here,” she says. “The people who have been coming in have been so kind and so grateful and so supportive … There have been lots of tears and smiles and gratitude. It’s been really magical.”

Māla Ocean Tavern, 1307 Front St., Lahaina,  (808) 667-9394, malatavern.com