HONOLULU (KHON2) — One Lahaina family’s love for authentic flavors kept them moving forward. Now, they’re rebuilding their dream on Oahu.
Lahaina Tacos was never meant to be on Oahu.
“My brother had a food truck that was getting ready to launch in his driveway that burned down at the same time that his home burned down,” stated Pedro Haro, the owner’s brother. “This is sort of like the continuation of a dream.”
The Haros, a family of 25, lost five homes of six different households.
“We dream that Lahaina will go back to the way that it was,” said Pedro. “What made Lahaina special was the people. So, we hope that all the people are able to come back.”
But for now, the family is serving it up in Downtown Honolulu at the Pioneer Plaza in Fort Street Mall. The restaurant sold out of everything they had by noon on its grand opening day, according to Pedro.
“He was just nervous that it wouldn’t do good so seeing this line, it’s great, it’s awesome,” said Nathalia Cardenas-Haro, the owner’s niece. “Now he knows that his food is so good.”
Customers who grew up eating Mexican food said they could tell how good the rest of the meal would be just by the smell and taste of the salsa.
“It’s hard to find authentic flavor. That flavor reminds you where you came from, the house flavor. This one sounds like it’s really good,” said Blanca Goodman, Kaneohe resident.
Pedro said the restaurant’s recipes are exactly how his family has made them for generations.
“It’s the exact same way that my mom made the tortillas, it’s the exact same way that my grandma made her beans. It’s the exact same way that my sister makes her salsa. So, it’s a little bit of our own family heart that’s being given into every piece of food,” said Pedro.
The family now finding support from their newfound community, hoping one day to return to Lahaina.
“It’s good because it means they’re regrowing and restarting themselves up,” said Emily Fabian, a customer. ” It was all over Instagram and me and my coworker decided to come down and we saw that the line was long so it must be good. I feel like the food is going to be really authentic.”