Kaunakakai's Saturday Market Came Back to Feed Ala Malama. This Fall, Ala Malama Needs It.

The Molokai Public Library closes on Saturdays. Its lawn at 15 Ala Malama Avenue still fills up every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon, because that's where the Molokai Farmers Market now sets up, right across the street from the Molokai Center lot where it ran before COVID.

That location was chosen on purpose. When the market went quiet during the pandemic, smaller markets started up around the island, and vendors felt the crowds never fully came back. Former vendors asked to return to town. Shops along Ala Malama Avenue backed them, because they remembered how market day brought steady foot traffic downtown. A year later, that reason matters more than when the market reopened. Several of the shops the market was meant to help are now dealing with permit problems, lease deadlines and a hotel next door that still hasn't opened. For the rest of 2026, events like the market are carrying much of Kaunakakai's town center while its buildings wait on permits.

How the market got back to town

Pūlama Ka Heke took on the job of bringing the market back to Kaunakakai. Market Manager Tylor Tanaka suggested the library lawn and worked it out with Librarian Mia Ritte, and the County of Maui Office of Economic Development provided support. The first market back was Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, so its first anniversary in the new spot falls next month.

The Molokai Dispatch counted 16 vendors that first week, with 22 registered. Vendor fees were waived for the first three months and then set at $25 per weekend. The early vendors included:

• Kamakani Farms, selling eggs
• Ala Ekolu Homestead, with baked goods
• Braddah Pop, with ice pops
• Double Squeeze, pouring lemonade and kava
• Mama Munchies, with meals and desserts

Other tables had ʻinamona, ʻolena soap, shell jewelry, pearl-and-bead pieces and Molokai-themed gifts. Organizers set out picnic benches so people could eat and listen to live music, and they planned monthly cultural workshops. Vendors change over a year, so treat that list as a picture of opening week, not a guarantee of who'll be there this Saturday. Go Hawaii lists the market every Saturday through Dec. 26, 2026.

A second market opens an hour later

The library lawn isn't the only Saturday market in town. The Molokai Arts Center runs its MAC Saturday Market at Molokai Community Health Center, 30 Oki Place, from 9 a.m. to noon. The Dispatch reported in late July 2026 that MAC had reached its second anniversary with about 15 core vendors each week, plus Molokai Flying Saucers playing Hawaiian music. The market had been running strong since a short pause after the storm flooding. Its mix has included lunch vendors, crafts, honey and produce.

Because the farmers market opens at 8 and MAC opens at 9, you can visit both on the same morning. Paddlers Restaurant and Bar at 10 Mohala Street starts serving food at noon Wednesday through Saturday, just as both markets close.

The block the market was meant to help

On Sept. 24, Molokai Dispatch editor Dayanti Karunaratne described one Kaunakakai building in a way that shows why foot traffic downtown matters right now. Customers at the Nail Bar have tea or kava at the salon's bar, catch up afterward at Paddlers, or grab a drink at Hoala Coffee on the way in. Several businesses in that building now have to move or may have to.

• Nail Bar Molokai. Owner Chisa-Lee Kalani opened in February 2025 and learned in late July that the building lacked required permits. She is looking for a new location, and she says other businesses facing the same problem may be adding competition for retail space.
• Native Built. Owner Kenny Adachi got a letter in August saying he has to leave by the end of November. His busiest season is the holidays.
• Molokai Art From the Heart. This co-op at 64 Ala Malama Avenue works with more than 60 artists and, according to lessee Ani Van Eps, puts over $150,000 into the local economy each year. Once a roof-repair permit and a contractor are in place, the co-op has been told it will have three months to move out.
• Kaunakakai Hotel. It's right next door and still not open. Earlier in September, owner Stan Wada told the Dispatch it could open within weeks, but said he was "not holding his breath." Adachi has wondered whether the hotel could become his next location.

These delays have a common cause. Most of Kaunakakai sits inside the Special Management Area, a regulated coastal zone, so construction there needs county approval. Luigi Manera, a project manager and architectural drafter based in Kaunakakai, told the Dispatch that work inside the SMA can go before the Molokai Planning Commission for details as small as new windows or paint. "People would be shocked if they read the SMA rules," he said.

The building's manager said the family that owns it wants to "go slow, build trust and give people the opportunity to share what they think might be helpful." Van Eps suggested that Kaunakakai building owners seek an exemption from the SMA process.

The fall calendar around the town center

With shop space this uncertain, much of the island's activity this season happens at events instead of storefronts, and many of those events are in or near Kaunakakai. Here are the dates through the end of the year:

A few of these need more detail. The canoe season is shorter than planned. The Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association canceled Nā Wahine O Ke Kai, which had been set for Sept. 27, and the Molokai Canoe Festival's Kulāia Hoʻolauleʻa, both because of storm conditions. The canoes stayed on Molokai for the men's race on Oct. 11. Nā Wahine won't be rescheduled, because holding it after the men's race would risk running into winter swells.

Paʻa Printmakers' anniversary talk is free. Its weekend woodblock workshop on Oct. 24 and 25 is sold out, but there's a waitlist. The Christmas Light Parade, hosted by No Ke Aloha O Molokai, includes a bed race along with food, games and crafts. Kalo Fest is hosted by Sustʻāinable Molokai, ʻĀina Momona, Molokai Arts Center, UH Maui College and OHA. It features hands-on learning stations, talks by cultural practitioners and farmers, a kalo recipe contest, local music and a meal. The Timeline Project is a new community-informed history exhibit on Ala Malama, and it stays on display after opening night.

Saturdays between now and the end of November

Native Built's deadline sets the timeline. Counting from Oct. 10, there are eight Saturdays left before the end of November. That's eight market mornings on the library lawn while Native Built is still in the space where people know to find it. The co-op at 64 Ala Malama has no move date yet because its permit hasn't been issued. If you're buying gifts from Molokai artists for the holidays, it's still open now.

A farmers market on the lawn of a library that's closed on Saturdays, a block away from shops waiting on permits, is a temporary way for a town center to keep going. Pūlama Ka Heke moved the market back to Ala Malama so the shops nearby would get Saturday customers. Through December, those shops can use every one of them.

If you own property in Kaunakakai and want a clearer picture of how SMA review could affect repairs or plans, Emerald Club Realty helps owners across Maui County coordinate maintenance and talk through what's realistic before work starts. Work with our Maui Ohana. We're glad to talk story about your building.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.