For the past 20 years, a restaurant in Carson called Back Home in Lahaina has provided the flavor and the feel of Hawaii to Southern Californians. Recently, people have been stopping in more for a sense of community and to mourn together the lives lost in their beloved town of Lahaina. LA Times food columnist Lucas Kwan Peterson sat down with the owners and customers who have faith in the power of ohana. He joined Lisa McRee on “LA Times Today.”

What You Need To Know

  • A restaurant in Carson called Back Home in Lahaina has provided the flavor and the feel of Hawaii to Southern Californians for 20 years

  • Recently, people have been stopping in more for a sense of community and to mourn together the lives lost in Lahaina

  • The restaurant has a mural of the town painted on the wall 

  • Musician Brian Yamamoto and his band are hosting a fundraiser for Maui victims at the restaurant on Sunday

Peterson described the feel of the restaurant and why it’s so special to its patrons now.

“It’s a bit bigger than you might expect when you walk in. And there’s a lot of bric a brac and there’s a lot of little corners of the restaurant that are painted and that are decorated to look exactly like certain places in Lahaina. Certain shops, certain restaurants. A famous hotel called The Pioneer Inn, and what I believe was a whaling museum that used to be in Lahaina,” he said. 

Many of the patrons Peterson talked to had connections to Maui and Lahaina. The manager of the restaurant, Naomi Lee, was visibly moved when she looked at a mural of the town. 

“We were just talking a little bit as she was showing me to my table. Very nice. And then her eyes glanced at this big mural, which covers a large portion of one of the walls in the restaurant. And she looked away immediately, and she started to tear up. She just said, ‘I’m sorry. Now, when I look at this mural of Front Street and I think about what’s happened, it’s just too much.’ It was just too much for her to handle,” Peterson shared.

Musician Brian Yamamoto’s wife is from Maui. He plays music at Back Home in Lahaina every month. He and his band are hosting a fundraiser for Maui victims on Sunday, Sept. 3. The restaurant is planning its own fundraiser soon.

Peterson described the ohana spirit that permeates the gatherings at Back Home in Lahaina. 

“While there was a lot of tears and there was a little bit of a somber atmosphere, there was also a lot of joy. There was music and there was laughing and there was this just being together in this place after something so horrible had happened, that really gave really gave people a lot of strength. And they talked about this word, which is ohana, which means family. And you really, you really felt it sitting in there,” he recalled.

Musician Brian Yamamoto plays music at Back Home in Lahaina every month. He and his band are hosting a fundraiser for Maui victims on Sunday. The restaurant is planning its own fundraiser soon.

Click the arrow above to watch the full interview.

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