Sale Pepe Brings a Taste of Italy to Hawaii
Photo: Ryan Siphers
The sun is setting on Lahaina, and golden light pours into the oceanside restaurants on Front Street.
It illuminates the 19th century wooden storefronts on Lahaina’s main drag, where streams of visitors wander in and out of the popular Kimo’s restaurant and pause for photo-ops on Forrest Gump’s bench in front of Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. In the midst of this, I am looking for Sale Pepe, which I expect to find somewhere on this stretch, given its Front Street address. But it’s only by turning off of the main road that I find it, for the restaurant is buried in Old Lahaina Center, a nondescript shopping complex that’s home to Lahaina’s quotidian businesses such as a supermarket and post office.
Tipped off by a friend, I am seeking this Italian restaurant because if I didn’t live in Hawaii, I would live in Italy—for its culture, for its beauty and, obviously, for its food. But both places struggle with their popularity; both, many will say, are too touristy, that the masses have obscured what is unique to them. But of both, I have found that there are still treasures to be found, especially in the food—you just have to know where to look.
