Isolana, the Sheraton Maui's new open-air Italian restaurant, opened in late September with entrées priced from $32 to $85. Over at Whalers Village, a burger from Cool Cat Express runs about $17 to $19, and kamaʻāina with a State of Hawaiʻi ID get 20% off. Both are on the same stretch of Kaanapali Parkway, and between them they show how dining at the resort has rebuilt itself since 2023.
New sit-down openings at Kaanapali are priced at resort level. The Lahaina restaurants that relocated here came back smaller, as counters with shorter menus. The full-service Front Street experience has mostly not made the move yet. The first one scheduled to is Down the Hatch, with a target of February 2027.
The Lahaina Favorites Came Back as Counters
In March, Maui Now reported on a group of Lahaina businesses that lost their Front Street locations in the 2023 wildfires and have since reopened at Whalers Village. Two of them serve food, and both changed format to come back.
Cool Cat Café, the 1950s-style diner known well beyond West Maui, returned as Cool Cat Express. Whalers Village describes it as "a new quick-service concept." It's on Level 1 and open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. The menu is pared down to burgers, chicken sandwiches, a local taro-patty vegetarian sandwich and shakes made with Roselani ice cream.
Sale Pepe Pizzeria e Cucina followed the same route. Its owners opened Via! by Sale Pepe as a quick-service spot rather than recreating the original dining room. It's in the Whalers Village Food Court, Suite H-19. The last reported hours, from a November 2025 update, were daily from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., serving pizza by the slice, build-your-own pasta bowls and salads, plus bottled and canned beer and wine to go.
Three Lahaina retailers reopened in the same wave: CocoNene, Banyan Tree Tattoo and Honolulu Cookie Company. CocoNene's founders, Kent and Lori Untermann, had already opened a store at Kīhei Kalama Village. Whalers Village is their second Maui location since the fire. "These businesses are part of the fabric of West Maui," Whalers Village marketing manager Tiera Kekaula told Maui Now.
A smaller footprint means a smaller menu and a counter in place of a server. It also means the place is open. For anyone who used to drive to Front Street for a Cool Cat burger or a Sale Pepe pie, that order now comes from a food court in Kaanapali.
Isolana Fills the Other End
Isolana is the Sheraton Maui's new signature dinner restaurant at 2605 Kaanapali Parkway. It's built for the long, unhurried meal that the counters skip. The name means "islander" in Italian. General manager Kaleo Kenui said the restaurant wants guests to "linger a little longer."
Much of the menu comes from local farms. There's produce from Waiheʻe Valley Plantation and Hua Momona Farms, plus ʻulu and locally grown mushrooms. The centerpiece is handmade pasta. Dishes named at launch include:
- Lasagna made with Maui Nui venison bolognese, garlic béchamel and parmigiano reggiano
- Cacio e pepe with lobster, chives and umami crumble
- Pan-roasted kanpachi with Kamuela tomatoes from Kawamata Farms on Hawaiʻi Island
- Umami-crusted ahi with mushroom risotto and shiitake bacon
The bar's Flight 1963 cocktail mixes Kupu whiskey, amaro, lemon and pineapple. It's named for the first nonstop commercial flight from the Mainland to Kahului Airport. Coffee is French press from Mālama Maui Kona Estate Coffee.
The schedule matters more than the menu when you're planning a weeknight. Isolana serves dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday and Thursday through Sunday, and it's closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Reservations go through OpenTable or the resort at 808-661-0031. Neither the launch announcement nor the Sheraton's dining page mentions kamaʻāina pricing.
Here's how the new options compare:
| Spot | Format | Hours | Price signal | Kamaʻāina offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isolana, Sheraton Maui | Sit-down dinner | Mon, Thu–Sun, 5–9 p.m. | Entrées $32–$85 | None published |
| Cool Cat Express, Whalers Village Level 1 | Quick service | Daily, 10:30 a.m.–9 p.m. | Burgers and sandwiches about $17–$19 | 20% off food with Hawaiʻi ID |
| Via! by Sale Pepe, Food Court H-19 | Quick service | Daily, 11 a.m.–8:30 p.m., as of Nov. 2025 | Slices, pasta bowls, salads | None published |
| Down the Hatch | Bar and restaurant | Target opening Feb. 2027 | Same menu as Front Street | Not yet announced |
Food & Wine Weekend Runs Mostly on Sold-Out Tickets
Kaanapali's biggest food event of the fall sits at the high end too. The Hawaiʻi Food & Wine Festival returns to the resort for its 16th year, October 23 to 25, with three events along the shoreline.
- Friday, Oct. 23: Roy Yamaguchi Golf Classic at Kaanapali Golf Course and Roy's Kaanapali. Registration opens at 10 a.m. and the shotgun start is at 11:30 a.m. Participating chefs include Roy Yamaguchi, Alfonso Acevedo, Matt Dela Cruz, James Domingo, Jennifer Evetushick, David Flegel and Zach Sato. The sponsorship packages were listed as sold out.
- Saturday, Oct. 24: Caviar, Pearls & Aphrodisiacs at the Sheraton Maui, 6 to 9 p.m. The chef list includes Michael Mina, Jonathan Waxman, Chris Kajioka, Robynne Maii, Leah Cohen, Spike Mendelsohn and the Sheraton's own Mitchell Cooper. General admission at $300 and VIP at $500 were both listed as sold out. Priority tickets were $400.
- Sunday, Oct. 25: No EGGScuses, Let's Brunch! at Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nyesha Arrington, Vanessa Castillo, Duff Goldman, Ravi Kapur, Susur Lee and Melba Wilson are on the lineup, and general admission is $150.
The festival pages list no resident or kamaʻāina ticket rate. They also note that prices and availability can change. That puts the counters at Whalers Village in the same position on festival weekend as on any other night of the fall: they're the walk-up option in Kaanapali.
Down the Hatch Is the First Full Front Street Bar Coming Back
Down the Hatch was at 658 Front Street, on the lower level of The Wharf across from the Banyan Tree, until the August 8, 2023 fire. Its website now says it will reopen on the West Side in Kaanapali in February 2027. Permits are in progress and renovations are still to come, so treat that date as a target.
This return is different from the counters at Whalers Village. In a June interview with Aloha State Daily, a representative of sister restaurant Māla Ocean Tavern said the menu will stay the same, lava lava shrimp and lobster and crab stuffed grilled cheese included. She also said the hope is that some of the same staff will return. "We've taken over an existing location that needs some work," she said, adding that the spot "will be walking distance for all the guests that come from Kaanapali." No street address has been published yet. Chef Alvin Savella of Coco Deck Kitchen + Bar will be involved in the reopening.
In the same interview, she said that "all of our restaurants have a 20% kamaʻāina discount." Down the Hatch hasn't announced its terms for the new location. If the group's policy carries over, it would be the first full-service Front Street name in Kaanapali with resident pricing built in.
Another food tenant is also on the way. The Whalers Village directory lists Black Rock Pizza as "Coming Soon" on Level 1, with no opening date given.
The Parking Math on a Weeknight
How much a dinner in Kaanapali costs can depend on the garage. Whalers Village charges $8 an hour, up to $50 a day. Shoppers and diners can get validation with a minimum purchase at any store or restaurant, though the mall doesn't publish the minimum or how much time it covers. Cool Cat Express says it validates.
At the Sheraton, restaurant guests can use self-parking or valet, and valet is validated at a reduced rate. The resort doesn't list the rate. If you're planning an Isolana dinner, it's worth asking about parking when you book.
Down the Hatch's Kaanapali opening is the next date to watch. We follow how changes like these shape daily life on the West Side, from where dinner happens to how the resort corridor fills in around Whalers Village. If you'd like to talk about what that means for owning in Kaanapali, Mark Marchello and the Marchello Team are here to help.