Lost in the Maui fire: Hawaii's oldest inn and its restaurant
In the early part of the past century, whalers who docked their ships in Lahaina, in western Maui, would drink at the saloon in the Pioneer Inn. For decades, the Inn's Grill and Bar was a spot for locals to gather and gossip over breakfast. And in recent years, diners could eat poke and sip cocktails at Papa'aina, the restaurant that replaced the long-running grill.
The inn, the oldest continually operating hotel in Hawaii and a local landmark, was among the thousands of businesses and homes destroyed in the fires that on Tuesday engulfed Lahaina, killing at least 55 people, a tally that is expected to rise once the area is searched.
Lee Anne Wong, the chef at Papa'aina, closed the restaurant hours ahead of the quickly spreading fires. Now, she is volunteering with the World Central Kitchen team to provide meals on the devastated island of Maui, where on Friday, fires were still smoldering and residents were reeling. On Thursday, she helped pack 2,000 lunches and expected to feed another 2,000 for dinner. Wong was working to find one of her employees whom she had not been able to locate - which she said mattered more than losing her restaurant. "It doesn't matter at all. I can always build another restaurant," she said. "I need to find my employee. We need to find safety and shelter and food and water. That is all anybody is thinking about."
Wong, who later was able to reach the man and found him safe, said that most of her staff "have lost everything."
The Pioneer Inn, which was established in 1901 by a British man named George Alan Freeland, sat in Lahaina's historic district, which includes buildings that date from well before the United States annexed Hawaii in the 1890s. It was the first public accommodations on the island, and although its original 10 rooms grew to 34 with additions over the years, it retained its historic charm and its plantation-style architecture.
Guests and staff were evacuated safely ahead of the fires, said Kelly Lennon, whose family has run the hotel since 1981 on a lease (the property is still owned by the Freeland family). She said that 30 of the 45 employees of the hotel and restaurant have been left homeless, but so far, it seems that all of them are safe.
"I'm heartbroken, and I feel such remorse for the people who have lost everything," she said. "It's just devastating to see the images on TV and what used to be Pioneer Inn is ashes on the ground."
Like many residents, some displaced workers have found lodging with friends and family. One of the owners of a retail shop on the hotel's ground floor has 23 people staying with her, Lennon said. Wong is taking in one of her cooks and his wife.
Lennon and many other business owners want to rebuild, she said, but so many questions loom. Can they even get permits to build on an erosion zone? Would they have to replicate the old structure, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places? "It's hard to imagine how it will all be rebuilt, but everyone I've talked to wants that very much," she said. "We're just learning how to put one foot in front of the other."
Many other nearby restaurants and eateries were also leveled by the fires. Jennifer Owen, who ran Bakery Lahaina, told Washington Post reporter Reis Thebault that both the bakery and her nearby home were gone. "There's nothing," Owen said.
Mick Fleetwood, the musician and owner of Fleetwood's on Front Street, said that his establishment had been lost. "This is a devastating moment for MAUI and many are suffering unimaginable loss," he wrote in an Instagram post. "While we are heartbroken our main priority is the safety of our dear staff and team members."
Meanwhile, members of the restaurant community began organizing relief and fundraising efforts to help those among them who had lost their homes. In addition to the chefs and others volunteering with World Central Kitchen, Chef Hui, an organization made up of local cooks and food professionals, is coordinating relief efforts for members of the hospitality industry. TS Restaurants, which operates a number of restaurants in Hawaii and California, began seeking donations to offer grants to its nearly 800 employees in Maui. A GoFundMe page was also started for the employees of the Waikiki Brewing Company and Cheeseburger in Paradise, both of which were destroyed.
While people might be eager to help those affected, Wong cautioned people to be wary of scam charities, and she directed people to give to the Maui United Way. She is also helping to spread the word about Maui Rapid Response, a grass-roots collective that is vetting charities and coordinating donations of food, clothing and toiletries. "That's the one thing about the Hawaiian community is that we know how to take care of each other," she said. "We have whole communities coming together right now."
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The Washington Post's Natalie B. Compton contributed to this report.
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