Maui's LGBTQ businesses — like many others — are sorting through the ash and rubble and struggling to balance the needs of their employees and the need to reopen to visitors.
Tourism is Maui's leading industry, according to Maui County General Plan 2030. However, emotions are still raw for many on the island, especially for LGBTQ business owners on Lahaina's Front Street and their employees.
On September 8, Hawaii Governor Josh Green announced West Maui — Ka'anapali, Napili, Honokowai, and Kapalua — would reopen to tourism October 8.
The governor's announcement has been met with push-back from the community, reported ABC News.
Looking ahead, gay Hawaiian Mexican Kawai Sellers, 47, who is a Hawaiian cultural performer at Feast of Lele and a volunteer at Aloha Maui Pride, and others expressed they didn't know where the estimated 6,000 displaced Hawaiians were going to go during this recovery phase. The housing vouchers have run out and the hotels (which have housed more than 2,000 displaced families) are expected to welcome guests back in a few weeks.
He and others pointed out that Maui had a housing crisis before the fires, which ripped through Lahaina and other towns in August. Maui had few available homes and some of the highest rents in the U.S.
Locals explained that drought and how water systems were constructed during the island's sugar plantation era compound the issue of finding suitable land for temporary homes.
On September 25, Maui officials allowed some Lahaina residents back into their homes for the first time since the fires ravaged the historic town, reported the Associated Press.
Sensitive topic
Maui LGBTQ business owners are split between reopening.
Michael Moore, one of the gay partners of Na Hoaloha Ekolu LLC, said reopening is a conversation that is happening, but it is "a little bit sensitive."
Michael Moore, one of the gay partners of Na Hoaloha Ekolu LLC, said reopening is a conversation that is happening, but it is "a little bit sensitive."
He said his business partners of nearly 40 years, Robert Aguiar, and his partner in business and life, Tim Moore, own several popular businesses on Lahaina's Front Street, including Star Noodle, Old Lahaina Luau and Feast of Lele (he and his three business partners were 50% owners), along with Leoda's Kitchen and Pie Shop, located on the outskirts of Lahaina, and employed nearly 400 workers.
Moore said they are in a unique position. Some of the historic buildings that housed their businesses were leveled while some survived the fires but are damaged. He swallowed his emotions on the other end of the phone talking with the Bay Area Reporter.
He spoke about the damages and losses suffered by the businesses he and his partners built and the people they've worked with for nearly four decades.
Moore said the Feast of Lele, 505 Front Street, along with lesbian-owned Betty's Beach Cafe, along with two business offices and another company-owned property were destroyed by the fire in Lahaina. The historic buildings that are the home of Feast of Lele, Star Noodle, a production facility, and Leona's, plus a new restaurant that was being built, are still standing but not operational due to damage from the fire.
"We are in a unique position of being able to open in the future, unlike so many that lost so much," he said, "but that's not something that's going to happen in a few weeks at all. Our feeling is we need to talk about reopening when the community is ready to reopen."
He explained, using Hawaiian words, how he felt about the company and its employees: ohana, which means family, and kuleana, which roughly translates to responsibility. "We feel there's a responsibility in how we open and when we open," Moore told the B.A.R.
Sellers doesn't know what the future holds for himself, his family, or his job. The 47-year-old has worked in Lahaina since he was 18 years old.
"Those of us who've worked all of our lives in Lahaina ... still have to survive," said Sellers, noting that tourism was very much down. "There's nobody on Maui. I mean, there are people but not enough to sustain the economy."
People are already leaving Maui, he said, stating he knew of eight people who left the island for California, Nevada, and North Carolina.
Kevin Rebelo, a 60-year-old gay man who owns Gay Hawaii Wedding, and has planned same-sex weddings since 1994, told the B.A.R. he saw about a 70% drop immediately in his business because of cancellations due to the fires. Additionally, Visit Maui, the tourism agency, initially urged travelers not to come to the island.
Jim Doran, president of Aloha Maui Pride, which postponed its Pride celebration scheduled for next month to June, agreed with Rebelo.
"Lahaina is closed, but the rest of Maui is open," said Doran, who added a date for Maui Pride has not been set. "We want people to come here. Be respectful. Maybe volunteer while you're here. Mostly come to Maui because we really need them."
He added, "Wailea is open; Kihei is open; Upcountry is open," and those areas are waiting for vacationers to return.
Rebelo said weddings are starting to pick up.
"Slowly, we are starting to see people return," he said. "They're staying in the Wailea area and Kihei area."
Echoing Doran, Rebelo said, "We're open. We want people to come to Maui. It's very important. It's going to make a big difference that tourism comes back quickly [and] strongly.
"People will come and realize that this is the right thing to do and not to feel guilty about coming here and having a good time," he added.
Rebelo told the B.A.R. that several of his clients have gotten married and volunteered to help Maui locals.
"I've had several clients that have come, gotten married, and then gone and volunteered for organizations for a few days," said Rebelo. "They include that as part of the trip just so that they can feel respectful and feel that they're helping out as well."
"Maui is a very special place for a lot of people," he added, talking about one couple who changed their wedding plans to marry on the Big Island after the fires and then changed them back to tie the knot on Maui. "That's where they want to get married."
The B.A.R. reached out to several LGBTQ-owned businesses identified by Visit Maui — Asa Flowers, Betty's Beach Cafe, and Cafe a la Plage — located on Lahaina's Front Street, but did not receive a response.
Updated, 10/2/23: This article has been updated regarding the partnership of Na Hoaloha Ekolu LLC.
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