Crystal Mitchell, owner of 808 Boards in Honokowai, is still waiting to see an uptick in visitors, whom she hopes come back soon. She and her family lost their home in Lahaina on Aug. 8. The Maui News / MELISSA TANJI photos
HONOKOWAI — Sitting behind the counter at her quiet 808 Boards surf and skate shop in Honokowai Thursday morning, Crystal Mitchell said she could be working instead on her insurance claims for the home she lost in the Aug. 8 Lahaina fire.
Normally the shop, which also rents out paddleboards, surfboards and other beach gear, has more staff, including a driver to make rental deliveries.
But now that business is almost nonexistent.
“I really need for business to come back. I got a lot to do,” said Mitchell, who with her husband and two sons were able to flee their burning home in Lahaina, although they lost two of their dogs. Her husband also got hurt in the fire.
Even with the reopening of West Maui that began Oct. 8 with Phase 1 from The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua to Kahana Villa, Mitchell hasn’t seen a real increase in visitors.
The McDonald family from Washington state is recorded by a friend in Honokowai on Thursday. The family said they thought long and hard over coming to Maui.
“Yesterday, no, there was no uptick yesterday at all. No uptick today,” she said Thursday morning. “We’re hopeful come the holidays it will get better. Now it’s been pretty mellow.”
She said the rental business, which mainly caters to tourists, is down 90 percent, and business at the retail shop for almost the whole month of October was down 50 percent.
She has also been unable to receive help from government entities.
Wednesday marked the reopening of Phases 2 and 3 of the three-phase plan that Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen established after Gov. Josh Green announced in September that West Maui would reopen to tourism on Oct. 8, two months since the deadly wildfires destroyed Lahaina town residences and businesses.
On Oct. 23, Bissen announced that the final two phases would reopen, saying there was “some fairly good results of the Oct. 8 reopening” and that the “interaction between the visitors and the local community has been positive and that also went into our decision as well.” Phases 2 and 3 cover the area from Kahana to the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa in Kaanapali.
Jasmine Witt, owner of At Witt’s End, Jasmine’s Boutique in the Kahana Gateway Shopping Center, holds her sleeping 8-month-old daughter, Ivy, on Thursday. Witt said business has picked up at her store, which includes customers such as repeat visitors and Mainland relief workers.
In September, hotels in West Maui were almost exclusively occupied by fire-displaced Lahaina residents and relief workers, according to the Hawai’i Tourism Authority.
Jon and Deanna DeGroot of Oregon, who were shopping in Kahana on Thursday, said they are staying at the Ka’anapali Beach Resort, one of the only ones open.
They came to celebrate their 46th anniversary as well as to try to support the economy and said they felt welcomed as repeat visitors.
“Everyone knows us,” Jon DeGroot said of the places they frequent.
He added that he has also signed up to help with the Red Cross today.
The McDonald family from Washington state thought hard about their decision to come to Maui, even having a family meeting and talking to people on Maui.
“We were very apprehensive to do so,” Kaytie McDonald said of their trip to the Valley Isle, which had been planned about a year or so ago. She was with her family at the Honokowai Marketplace Thursday morning.
“I don’t want to do anything disrespectful. None of us did,” she said.
Her father, Thomas McDonald, said he didn’t want to come to Maui at first, but the family was encouraged to visit by people at a Napili condominium where they ended up staying.
“We love the Hawaiian culture and we respect them,” his wife Jeana McDonald said. “We know they need time to heal and grieve.”
Susie McDonald Erickson, the matriarch of the family, said that “we are trying to buy, give good tips” at businesses.
“I’ve been coming here for over 20 years. You’re going through a lot. We just want to let you know we are backing you,” she said.
Lahaina resident Crisanto Ancheta, whose family lost their rental home on Aki Street in Lahaina, expressed the struggle of welcoming visitors back after a tragedy but also needing them to help the economy.
“I like the tourist come back,” said Ancheta, an Über driver who depends on visitors.
He and many others are torn between two perspectives.
“We don’t want them to come because of what happened but you know we need them to come because we need them to pay our bills,” he said.
He and his family are currently staying at the Royal Lahaina Resort, and his children have gone back to their respective schools, Princess Nahi’ena’ena Elementary and Lahaina Intermediate.
John Pascua lost his own home and another he rented out in Lahaina. He is also an Über driver and lost three of his six cars in the fire.
As for visitors returning after the reopening of West Maui, “no more yet,” Pascua said.
“If no more tourists, no more income,” he added.
He and his extended family are staying at Kahana Villa.
One local business that has seen its customer numbers pick up is At Witt’s End, Jasmine’s Boutique in the Kahana Gateway Shopping Center, which has the words “Lahaina Strong” on its store windows.
Owner Jasmine Witt said she has seen business increase not only due to the phased reopenings but also because there are likely fewer shopping options for both locals and tourists, since many businesses burned in Lahaina, including one of her other boutiques in West Maui. She currently has two stores still standing.
Witt has also gained some customers from Mainland relief groups who are helping in West Maui. She added that dealing with the reopening is tough, as things are still very sensitive. She said most customers “are considerate and are asking how they can help” and noted that most of the visitors on the northern side of Lahaina are repeat visitors.
In Honokowai, Mitchell also said she has been seeing repeat visitors in addition to more local customers, as the surf shops in Lahaina have either burned or haven’t opened yet after surviving the fire.
“The locals have been very supportive,” she said.
She added that visitor customers have been “very compassionate, very empathetic.”
“We are very grateful for the ones that we have.”
* Staff Writer Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.
Crystal Mitchell, owner of 808 Boards in Honokowai, is still waiting to see an uptick in visitors, whom she hopes come back soon. She and her family lost their home in Lahaina on Aug. 8. The Maui News / MELISSA TANJI photos 
The McDonald family from Washington state is recorded by a friend in Honokowai on Thursday. The family said they thought long and hard over coming to Maui. 
Jasmine Witt, owner of At Witt’s End, Jasmine’s Boutique in the Kahana Gateway Shopping Center, holds her sleeping 8-month-old daughter, Ivy, on Thursday. Witt said business has picked up at her store, which includes customers such as repeat visitors and Mainland relief workers.Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
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