In a sweeping on-the-ground report on Lāhainā's slow and complicated road to recovery, SFGATE Hawaii Contributing Editor Christine Hitt chose Sale Pepe as the lens through which to tell the story of what it looks like to actually come back. Arriving at Emerald Plaza at dusk, Hitt describes the bright marquee sign glowing over the restaurant's new location — busy with customers, lines out the door — as one of the clearest signs of life in a town still largely waiting to rebuild. Co-owner Qiana Di Bari told SFGATE that the decision to reopen was driven by an outpouring of community support, and that Sale Pepe's lease on its original Front Street location with the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation remains intact, ready for the day Lāhainā's iconic street returns.