For more than 30 years, Cheeseburger in Paradise, founded in Lahaina, occupied a prime waterfront spot on the town’s Front Street.
The iconic eatery drew hordes of tourists and locals, serving up to 1,200 people a day, employing a staff of about 50 people and generating more than $7.5 million a year in revenue.
On the restaurant’s Facebook page, repeat visitors to Maui called it their first stop on the island each time they visited.
But the Aug. 8 Lahaina fire destroyed the restaurant. And amid an uncertain and puzzling path ahead toward redevelopment, the owners of the popular eatery have decided to call it quits in Lahaina.
“I don’t believe for a second that they are going to let anybody build on the ocean again,” Laren Gartner, co-founder and owner of Cheeseburger in Paradise, said in a recent interview.
She said that questions about soil toxicity, a debris-removal process that may take years to complete and government lethargy in the face of real economic threat have added to her concerns about Lahaina’s financial future.
The owners of Cheeseburger in Paradise are among dozens of Lahaina entrepreneurs who are deliberating over whether to try to rebuild or reopen their businesses, with some deciding that the risks are too great and the likely delays too long.
Another entrepreneur who is throwing in the towel in Lahaina is Charlie Osborn, owner of Island Printing and Imaging, which combined commercial printing and art reproduction, an essential service in a community that employs many artists who sell their work in shops and galleries around the islands.
His shop on Limahana Place, which he ran since 2011, burned down in the fire.
“My customer base was mostly Lahaina and the majority are now out of business,” said Osborn, who is a photographer.
He said before the fire, he had 400 customers who were a mix of businesses and individuals.
The printing company’s departure is a blow, some said. (...)
Patel, who is director of sales and advocacy for Maui Resort Rentals, also serves as vice chair of the Maui County Liquor Control Commission, where he is trying to find ways to help businesses relocate from Lahaina to other places on the island.
“We are working to help business pivot faster to the other side of the island,” Patel said. (...)
Nobody knows for sure how many of Lahaina’s businesses will wait out what may be years of uncertainty to open again in town. Business owners, some of whom also lost their homes in the conflagration, have dispersed all over the country in the weeks following the fire.
People are losing contact with each other, Morrison said.
“We’re all just disconnected, kind of like during Covid,” she said. “I don’t know how to reach anybody because before, I just walked down the street and talked to people, and now, they are just not there.”
Gartner said she believes that fewer than half of Lahaina’s restaurants and bars remain interested in a future on Maui, based on what she witnessed at a recent Liquor Commission meeting. She said that before the fire, about 50 firms in Lahaina had liquor licenses but that at a recent meeting, only about 21 businesses appeared to be there in person or represented by attorneys.
Patel said the Lahaina Town Action Committee formerly had a total membership of about 90 members, including about 50 business members. He said that about 45 of the business members lost their businesses, many of them on Front Street, and the organization is no longer sending them invoices for membership dues. (...)
Patel’s group organized one of the most effective business meetings held on the island on Sept. 5, when small business owners were able to pose questions to top government officials. Following this event, Patel said, he got some new inquiries for membership.
Some Lahaina restaurants are actively looking for retail locations elsewhere on the island but finding there isn’t much available space, Patel said. Some are considering going into temporary, pop-up locations that would operate something like tiny homes, giving them a venue until they can find permanent locations, he said.
Re-establishing businesses in Lahaina may take a very long time because of all the logistical issues, he said.
by Kirstin Downey, Honolulu Civil Beat | Read more:
Image: Cheeseburger in Paradise
[ed. Pretty predictable. Developers, local activists, Hawaiian rights groups, homeowners, hotels, businesses (like this one), tourism boosters, historical preservation societies, upcountry corporate landowners (water rights), lawyers (many, many), and politicians. It'll be a while before the whole mess gets sorted out. See also: A Plea From Native Hawaiians: The Future of Maui Rests on Honoring Its Past; and, Yes, Maui Is Open. But the Loss of Lahaina May Reshape Tourism. (NYT)]
The iconic eatery drew hordes of tourists and locals, serving up to 1,200 people a day, employing a staff of about 50 people and generating more than $7.5 million a year in revenue.
On the restaurant’s Facebook page, repeat visitors to Maui called it their first stop on the island each time they visited.
“I don’t believe for a second that they are going to let anybody build on the ocean again,” Laren Gartner, co-founder and owner of Cheeseburger in Paradise, said in a recent interview.
She said that questions about soil toxicity, a debris-removal process that may take years to complete and government lethargy in the face of real economic threat have added to her concerns about Lahaina’s financial future.
The owners of Cheeseburger in Paradise are among dozens of Lahaina entrepreneurs who are deliberating over whether to try to rebuild or reopen their businesses, with some deciding that the risks are too great and the likely delays too long.
Another entrepreneur who is throwing in the towel in Lahaina is Charlie Osborn, owner of Island Printing and Imaging, which combined commercial printing and art reproduction, an essential service in a community that employs many artists who sell their work in shops and galleries around the islands.
His shop on Limahana Place, which he ran since 2011, burned down in the fire.
“My customer base was mostly Lahaina and the majority are now out of business,” said Osborn, who is a photographer.
He said before the fire, he had 400 customers who were a mix of businesses and individuals.
The printing company’s departure is a blow, some said. (...)
Lack of concrete information from state and local government officials about Lahaina’s future is making it difficult for businesses to go forward, according to Lahaina’s entrepreneurs.
“If they gave us information for timelines then we can start to plan,” said Sne Patel, president of the Lahaina Town Action Committee, an organization of business owners and community advocates founded in 1988.
“If they gave us information for timelines then we can start to plan,” said Sne Patel, president of the Lahaina Town Action Committee, an organization of business owners and community advocates founded in 1988.
Patel, who is director of sales and advocacy for Maui Resort Rentals, also serves as vice chair of the Maui County Liquor Control Commission, where he is trying to find ways to help businesses relocate from Lahaina to other places on the island.
“We are working to help business pivot faster to the other side of the island,” Patel said. (...)
Nobody knows for sure how many of Lahaina’s businesses will wait out what may be years of uncertainty to open again in town. Business owners, some of whom also lost their homes in the conflagration, have dispersed all over the country in the weeks following the fire.
People are losing contact with each other, Morrison said.
“We’re all just disconnected, kind of like during Covid,” she said. “I don’t know how to reach anybody because before, I just walked down the street and talked to people, and now, they are just not there.”
Gartner said she believes that fewer than half of Lahaina’s restaurants and bars remain interested in a future on Maui, based on what she witnessed at a recent Liquor Commission meeting. She said that before the fire, about 50 firms in Lahaina had liquor licenses but that at a recent meeting, only about 21 businesses appeared to be there in person or represented by attorneys.
Patel said the Lahaina Town Action Committee formerly had a total membership of about 90 members, including about 50 business members. He said that about 45 of the business members lost their businesses, many of them on Front Street, and the organization is no longer sending them invoices for membership dues. (...)
Patel’s group organized one of the most effective business meetings held on the island on Sept. 5, when small business owners were able to pose questions to top government officials. Following this event, Patel said, he got some new inquiries for membership.
Some Lahaina restaurants are actively looking for retail locations elsewhere on the island but finding there isn’t much available space, Patel said. Some are considering going into temporary, pop-up locations that would operate something like tiny homes, giving them a venue until they can find permanent locations, he said.
Re-establishing businesses in Lahaina may take a very long time because of all the logistical issues, he said.
Image: Cheeseburger in Paradise
[ed. Pretty predictable. Developers, local activists, Hawaiian rights groups, homeowners, hotels, businesses (like this one), tourism boosters, historical preservation societies, upcountry corporate landowners (water rights), lawyers (many, many), and politicians. It'll be a while before the whole mess gets sorted out. See also: A Plea From Native Hawaiians: The Future of Maui Rests on Honoring Its Past; and, Yes, Maui Is Open. But the Loss of Lahaina May Reshape Tourism. (NYT)]
