Makena Beach & Golf Resort Zen-Zen Restaurant Pacifica at Makena Prince Hotel, Wailea Seawatch Gannon A Pacific View Restaurant in Wailea, Red Bar. Pete's Island Grill will also open in the Wailea Gateway Center (Pete Merriman) as well as Pita Paradise Wailea location.
Dining on Maui > Maui Scene Magazine > New Restaurants in 2010
Maui’s cookin’ with a host of new
restaurants, happenings
By CARLA TRACY, Dining Editor
reprinted courtesy Maui News 1/7/10
Beverly Gannon stands near the Red Bar in the new Gannon’s: A Pacific View
Restaurant in Wailea, which opened its doors Dec. 22 after an artful renovation
in the former SeaWatch. Diners are dazzled!
It's 2010 and Maui is cookin' with a host of new restaurants. Even some old favorites
continue to shift, evolve and upgrade for the new decade.
Oohs and ahhs are reverberating around the expansive new Gannon's: A Pacific View Restaurant in the former SeaWatch Wailea. Chef-owner Beverly Gannon has completely redone the open-air beauty with chocolate brown railings, light-green carpets, vaulted rust-colored ceilings, black-lava pillars and a glowing Red Bar.
"Everybody's loving it," says "The Best Chef on Maui" (as voted by readers of The Maui News). "People are coming back three or four times in one visit. The key word is that everybody is saying the new Red Bar is totally 'sexy.' "
Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the new Gannon's features entrees such as ahi scallopini with lemon-caper sauce, and loin of venison served with parmesan risotto and smoked-corn nage.
The former Maui Prince Hotel changed hands last September to become Makena Beach & Golf Resort. Starting Jan. 15, its Hakone restaurant will formally turn into Zen-Zen Restaurant Pacifica.
Instead of just serving Japanese fare, it will present Pacific Rim fusion cuisine such as tuna tartare with Dijon mustard, green onions, capers and olive oil; and Tahitian blue prawns with fried cauliflower and curry mayonnaise.
Of course, miso soup, sushi, black cod and tempura will still be on the menu as will a fabulous sake selection.
Makena Beach & Golf Resort's Molokini Bar & Grill will also take a Mediterranean twist come Jan. 15. We hear it will be like an Italian steak house.
As you know, there were many closures last year, due to the economy. One of the most lamented was Chez Paul in Olowalu, the oldest French restaurant in the state. Now, the good news is, the partners from Old Lahaina Lu'au have picked up the lease and will open by the end of the year with a new enterprise.
"Some people will miss the French food," says partner Michael Moore. "But that's just not us. It will not be a plate lunch or local food place either."
Instead, the as-yet-unnamed establishment will be more like a Honolua General Store kind of place with deli sandwiches, salads and freshly-baked pies for the thousands of people who drive by.
Moore and his Old Lahaina Lu'au partners will also open Star Noodle in the beginning of February at the top of the new Lahaina Light Industrial Area.
While Moore is adverse to using the word, "upscale," he says it will not be like the old House of Saimin.
"This will have a really cool vibe. The space will be very different from what you may think it will be."
"We'll be making all of our own noodles and offer Asian specialties with a share-plate concept," he says. "We'll also feature a fun sake-cocktail menu. A mixologist came here to design all of the specialty drinks."
House-made noodles will include udon, chow mein, ramen, Thai rice noodles and saimin for the famous "Lahaina fry soup" from a bygone era.
"Star Noodle will feature traditional dishes with a contemporary twist by Chef Sheldon Simeon," says Moore. "I spend a lot of time in New York City and eat in many of the top noodle houses there. I got my inspiration from the best of them."
Cafe O'Lei Waiehu is hoping to get its liquor license by Feb. 13, just in time for Valentine's Day. It will be the place to go for sweeping views of the North Shore, great grinds, and low prices.
Pita Paradise in the Kihei Kalama Village will expand to the new Wailea Gateway Center with a second restaurant sometime in late spring.
The original location will remain the same with a walk-up counter and casual bistro and pita fare. The new restaurant will feature sit- down service and popular Greek items such as moussaka, spanakopita, seafood risotto and pita-crusted chicken parmesan. Chef and owner Johnny Arabatzis is also captain of his own fishing boat, so the local catch doesn't get any fresher.
Pete's Island Grill will also open in the Wailea Gateway Center later this year. At 6,000 square feet, it will be the biggest spot in the new complex. Owned by Chef Peter Merriman, it will be a gastro pub that's all the rage on the Mainland.
Paradise Found Creperie opened in early December in the old Quizno's in Lahaina with artisan gelato, savory and sweet crepes and the expertise of Ritz Chef Ryan Urig of the Banyan Tree and his predecessor there, Chef Jojo Vasquez.
The duo will open a second location late this spring next door to the hugely popular Nachos Grande in Honokowai.
It will be a "step up from the first with a wine bar, tapas and crepes," says Ryan's mother, Pat Urig, a partner in the business. "It will feature a cozy lounge atmosphere with signature pupu, paired with a host of carefully selected wines."
Mama's Fish House has been around for over three-and-a-half decades. But its new outdoor seating area is making it possible to accommodate large parties without impacting the main dining room.
"We've always had requests for parties, and it's great, we're now seeing groups of 16, even up to 25, for family gatherings and small weddings," says Vice President Karen Christenson Marshall.
Last but not least, the Yokouchi Family Pavilion is expected to open by mid summer at the MACC in Kahului. While it's not a restaurant, it will feature the Yokouchi Founders Court dining area with a skylight covering to let in the moon and the stars. It will also feature six beverage bars (no more waiting in long lines), a full-service catering kitchen, a second-floor gathering space that overlooks Kahului Harbor, and a state-of-the-art performance stage.
reprinted courtesy Maui News 1/7/10, original link www mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/527447.html?nav=5020
brought to you by Wailea Makena Real Estate Inc.
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Peter Gelsey R (PB)
Wailea Makena Real Estate, Inc.
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