Maui Business

A worker at one of Maui’s largest private employers, Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, filed a class-action lawsuit Friday alleging owners of the luxury hotel giant misclassified hundreds of spa and salon workers, groundskeepers, facilities maintenance personnel and window washers as independent contractors in a “fraudulent scheme” to avoid pay and benefits at two of its landmark hotels, the Grand Wailea and Beverly Hills Waldorf Astoria.

Marc Togashi, Hawaiʻi Tourism Agency’s vice president of finance, will be leaving the organization Feb. 28 to assume a leadership position at the state Department of Human Resources Development, according to a news release.

Maui County last month had the largest vacation rental supply and average daily rate of all four counties, according to a state report released Thursday. 

Pā’ia Bay Coffee & Bar is holding a two-day job fair starting today. Workers for a variety of positions are being sought. Interested candidates for bartender, hostesses, line and prep cooks, baristas, servers, bussers may attend the fair from 1 to 5 p.m. today or from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the restaurant’s new location, 120 Hana Highway.

Maui County hotels led the state in the latest Hotel Performance Report for January 2023, with RevPAR of $429, ADR of $635, and occupancy of 67.6%.

Hawaiian Electric announced the promotion of Shayna (Coleon) Decker to director of government and community affairs for Maui County.

Hawai’i’s first Sonic restaurant opened today in Kahului to crowds of people, a performance by Sonic owner and award-winning Maui musician Glenn Awong of Maoli, a debut of the chain’s Hawai’i-only teriyaki burger — and new local celebrity Frank Barbosa. Barbosa, who’s from Maui, gained popularity in 2020 when he was first in line at Jollibee’s opening in Kahului. Since then, he’s been first in line at subsequent fast-food openings Chick-fil-A, Raising Cane’s and now Sonic. “I’m 4-0,” Barbosa said.

The leader of Maui’s new manapua shop — Happy Opu — takes the snack very seriously. After all, the savory or sweet treat is one of the main comfort foods to come from Hawai’i’s ethnic and cultural melting pot.

Aided by new grid-scale and rooftop solar capacity, Hawaiian Electric achieved a 32% consolidated renewable portfolio standard (RPS) in 2022.

Maui’s Grand Wailea Resort invites talented photographers to apply to a three-month paid temporary residency, capturing the essence of the property and recently refreshed venues.

In Maui County alone, there are 15,390 private solar systems on the HECO grid, the majority (94%) of which are residential, and 6% are commercial. The systems in Maui County have 145 megawatts of generating capacity.

After a recent fire severely damaged Makawao bicycle shop Krank Cycles, the shop, which focuses on community outreach, is on the road to recovery. Owner Aaron “Moose” Reichert said his flagship Makawao location nearly lost everything, but people in the community stepped in to help and he’s now opened a temporary location a couple doors down.

An additional 55,000 locations were enabled with fiber-to-the-premise service in 2022, including parts of Wailuku, Maui, Hawaiian Telcom reports.

The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua has unveiled a new room category – The Fire Lānai Collection, the final phase of its $100 million transformation.

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority has released two Requests for Proposals to procure brand management and marketing services for the United States, as well as support services for destination stewardship.

Hawaiʻi’s very first SONIC Drive-In opens on Maui, Monday Feb. 20, 2023. The opening will feature the debut of the new SONIC Teriyaki Burger, developed exclusively for the Maui drive-in in partnership with the Aloha Shoyu Company.

Maui Office of Economic Development invites the public to participate for free in six events planned for the Maui County 2023 National Entrepreneurship Week.

The second Core Four Business Planning series of this year, offered by Maui Economic Opportunity’s Business Development Center, begins March 7 at MEO in Kahului. Core Four offers 24 hours of instruction on how to start, operate and grow a business and is perfect for those thinking of starting a business or in the early stages and in need of further direction, according to a news release.

When Gemma Alvior made her first lehua flower design in 2016, she had no idea her work would grow over the pandemic and bloom into nationally-recognized fashion line Pulelehua Maui. Now, the Maui designer is opening her flagship brick-and-mortar boutique in Kahului.

During a recent Maui TechOhana, 45 entrepreneurs heard a presentation from guest speaker Jen Chiu, who led a design innovation team at Google, about the “Future of Work.”