Lahaina's Scattered Shops Get One Corner Again, on a Two-Year Clock

For the past stretch, if you wanted a Baya Bowls açaí bowl, you drove out to D.T. Fleming Beach Park in Kapalua. The business started in Lahaina in 2015 and lost both of its food trucks in the August 2023 fire. Most recently it has been operating at the Kapalua beach park. Now it is one of the businesses selected for ʻUlu o Lele, the new marketplace on the old Outlets of Maui site. Owner Ceone Nojima-Jacinto told Hawaii News Now that her team is "really excited to just get back into the community and see familiar faces again and get to serve the local community again."

The other vendors' recent addresses are just as spread out. One jewelry shop worked from 819 Front Street before the fire and has been taking orders through its website since. A boba shop moved to Kahului. A clothing line has been selling online and at pop-ups. Each of them has been picked for a storefront of 144 or 240 square feet at Waineʻe and Papalaua streets, on a lease that runs two years.

The corner where the outlets used to be

ʻUlu o Lele covers about 3 acres at the corner of Waineʻe and Papalaua streets. Its grounds were scheduled to open with a free community celebration on Tuesday, November 10. According to The Maui News, it is the first storefront marketplace to return to Front Street since the 2023 fire.

The Hawaiian Council is leading the project with Maui County. Funding comes from the council's Kākoʻo Maui Fund and a $4 million grant from the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation's Maui Strong Fund. The council announced the project in July and described it as an $8 million investment. The idea came out of the foundation-funded Maui Business Recovery and Resilience Assessment, which looked for ways to support West Maui's economy during the recovery.

Small rooms on a short lease

The storefronts are small. HPM Building Supply built 17 modular units in Hilo, and American Marine Corporation shipped them to Maui. Each unit is either 12 by 12 feet or 12 by 20 feet, which works out to 144 or 240 square feet. When the project was announced, monthly rents were expected to run from $800 to $1,500 depending on size. A 240-square-foot unit has about the floor area of a one-car garage. These spaces fit a counter, a barber chair or a rack of clothes, and a small business can afford to restart in one.

The lease is short too. The Hawaiian Council holds a two-year lease on the property. Council CEO Kūhiō Lewis has said it is not meant to be permanent. He told Hawaii News Now that the marketplace "isn't intended to replace the rebuilding of Front Street, but to create opportunities for businesses to return, earn income, reconnect with customers and support local jobs while that rebuilding continues."

In September, the council said the site would help support about 90 jobs by hosting 25 to 50 local vendors during the interim period. Seventeen storefronts cannot hold 50 vendors, so the rest of that range depends on food trucks, pop-ups and visiting makers.

Where these businesses have been since 2023

The table shows how far apart some of these businesses ended up before this month.

Some of these names may be familiar from a time when they had no fixed address. Lahaina News covered Mary Go Round's opening at West Maui Center in 2019, when customers could buy and sell secondhand clothing there. HENŌHEA is Courtney Lazo's clothing line. Hawaiʻi Public Radio reported that its designs draw on Lahaina and family memories, and that its Haliʻa Aloha collection was inspired by her grandmother's lei-making. West Side Boba took part in a Lahaina Palengke Night in June 2025, Hawaii News Now reported. That was a one-night event. A storefront at ʻUlu o Lele would give the shop a regular place in Lahaina again.

Two other storefronts sell things people may not expect in a marketplace stall. Maui Hub is an online local grocery service with products from more than 60 Maui farms, ranches and small businesses, offering pickup around the island or home delivery. Nani Shells makes Hawaiian shell and pearl jewelry by hand on Maui, including necklaces, rings, bracelets and earrings.

The rest of the lineup, and how it was chosen

The volunteer ʻUlu o Lele Advisory Committee reviewed 126 applications and chose 24 businesses. It gave priority to applicants affected by the 2023 fires or with a connection to Lahaina. It also weighed business readiness, cultural authenticity, community impact and stewardship potential. Committee chair Mikey Burke told Hawaii News Now:

"We read every word. We felt every story. We needed to make sure that the marketplace was a reflection of our community."

Burke said she hopes the marketplace becomes the piko of Lahaina, with the community first and visitors welcome.

The official ʻUlu o Lele site lists these storefront businesses in addition to the ones above:

• Beyoutiful Soul Shop
• Da Kine Tattoos and Collectables
• Goin Left
• Handmade by Heather
• Hawaiʻi Gelato
• Kekai and Me
• Mina Massage Therapy
• One of Dakine Maui Carving
• Taste Da Rootz
• Lahaina Barber Company

The food trucks selected alongside Baya Bowls and Front St Fresh are The Funky Mug by Drift, Mr. Sub Deli, ʻOno Tacos Lahaina Mexican Food, Penne Pasta Cafe and Smash Maui. One of the 17 units is the ʻUlu o Lele office and a business incubator space.

Planning a weekday stop

The November 10 celebration was planned to open the grounds and gathering spaces. The organizers said individual shops would open as they are ready, and some might start after the celebration. Here is what the marketplace asks of visitors, according to uluolele.com:

1. Park in the stalls next to the parking structure or along the street, and follow the posted parking instructions. Extra lots such as Anchor Square and Old Lahaina Center were listed for the grand opening only.
2. Stay in the designated public areas. The site is still in a rebuilding zone. Watch for uneven ground and open holes, and keep clear of restricted or marked property.
3. Leave out alcohol, smoking and vaping. Weapons, fireworks and hazardous materials are also not allowed on the grounds.
4. Lock your car and secure your valuables. The organizers note that vehicles are parked at the owner's risk.

The site also has a stage. Plans call for nightly entertainment. A Maui County announcement reported by Maui Now described cultural demonstrations led by Native Hawaiian practitioners, farmers markets, nonprofit and community pop-ups, music and family-friendly activities. The Hawaiian Council posts marketplace updates at uluolele.com. That is the best place to check before you go.

What the two-year lease leaves room for

Interest was strong from the start. An early vendor interest form drew responses from 93 businesses, and the advisory committee later reviewed 126 applications for 24 spots. Applicants who were not chosen were invited to sell from pop-up spaces at the grand opening. Over the two years, the council plans to open more space for food trucks, pop-up vendors, makers and artists. Lewis said the council's commitment "doesn't end with this first group of vendors." All of it has to fit within the council's two-year lease on the site.

We keep track of what's reopening around Lahaina because it's part of looking after homes and rentals in West Maui for our clients. If you own property on the west side and want a local team that knows what's opening near it, Emerald Club Realty is here to help. Work with our Maui Ohana.