‘Ohana Over All

On August 8, 2023, the face of Maui’s northwest coast changed forever. A helpless world watched in horror as a series of fires tore through the Hawaiian island, leveling historic Lahaina Town, a tourist hotspot and coastal harbor established in the 1800s. Residents fled to safety, some jumping in the ocean, watching while treading water as their homes and places of employment quickly burned to the ground.

More than 100 people lost their lives and countless others lost everything they owned. But despite what was lost, the Hawaiian spirit of ‘ohana—or family—remained strong. People banded together in the face of tragedy to support a tight knit community on its long road to recovery. 

At the heart of this community is T S Restaurants, which, since 1977, has been sharing the aloha spirit with diners at its popular locations—like Duke’s and Kimo’s—in both Hawaii and California. At the core of T S Restaurants’ mission is its drive to create restaurants with a genuine “sense of place” and a passion for the guests, employees, and communities they serve every day—the foundation of which is their ‘ohana, the extended family they create with every guest and member of their team.

The company put ‘ohana over all on that horrific day in August 2023 and the days, weeks, and months that followed. T S Restaurants pulled out all the stops to support its staff, their families, and the Maui community in the wake of the devastating wildfires.

Jackie Reed, chief executive officer of T S Restaurants, recounted the moments she heard the news: “It’s a hard story to tell,” she says from the company’s California home office in Solana Beach.

“There was no cell service or Wi-Fi prior to the fires due to the high winds, so we had no way of getting ahold of anyone. We weren’t sure what was going on until late that night when people started posting on Instagram,” she recalls. “It was a very intense time because we didn’t know what was happening in the moment. We didn’t get the full scope of the devastation until a day or two later.”

Immediately, T S Restaurants leadership sprang into action to account for its 726 employees across its four Maui restaurants, knowing that Kimo’s, the popular 46-year-old dining destination and home of the legendary Hula Pie, was in the direct path of the fire in Lahaina Town.

“We printed out a list of all of our Maui employees, and people throughout the company started calling personal numbers, shelters, and hospitals to find our ‘ohana,” Reed continues. “It took five days to account for everyone. All 726 employees survived, but not all their families. There were a lot of tragedies that we learned about. Almost 300 employees lost their homes. Everyone lost their town.”

As feared, Kimo’s burned to the ground with the rest of Lahaina. With the town in rubble, it was not immediately accessible by relief crews. Yet Jason Donez, one of T S Restaurants’ general managers, went to the other side of the island before the town was on fire to procure a refrigerated truck and fill it with perishable food from Leilani’s, Hula Grill, and Duke’s.

“We thought we were going to use the refrigerated truck to store food until the power came back on. Instead, Hula GM Amber Compton took the truck to the fire station in Napili, and thanks to the food from these three restaurants, was able to feed thousands of people in the early days following the disaster,” Reed says. “Leilani’s GM Jason Donez was integral in supporting World Central Kitchen and FEMA relief centers on Maui, and Duke’s GM Nick Ware and Kimo’s GM Chris Almeroth were actively checking on employees and their families and delivering food. There are so many examples like that from the people of Maui. They took care of each other, and that was beautiful and inspiring.”

MMA springs to action

Meanwhile, back on the mainland, T S Restaurants’ Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA) team was at the ready, actively awaiting word about the wildfire damage and committed to assisting in any way possible.

Greg Pendergast, principal and consultant with MMA, who manages the T S Restaurants account, explains that, as a long-term part of the MMA family, T S Restaurants is not just a client, they are friends. They are, as T S would say, ‘ohana. And ‘ohana sticks together.

“On both a personal and professional level, these are places we’ve known for decades and have been to many times,” he says. “We’re very close to T S and we have a pretty sizable team that works with them, so it was devastating. We made a commitment—we would make a trip to the island, but if we couldn’t get in and they couldn’t get out, we’d do whatever they wanted us to.

“We knew there was devastation and that they’d need immediate help,” he continues. “They were going to need money to help their ‘ohana. And they were going to have questions about what was covered by their insurance—because when the rubber meets the road, that’s what we do. Our team is responsible for obtaining the best coverage available in the marketplace. And I was confident to say that we did. When Jackie asked if they had coverage for this, I was able to say ‘yes.’”

As pleased as Pendergast was to be able to assist, Reed was equally grateful to have the MMA team in her company’s corner.

“MMA has been an invaluable partner for many years, and especially after the fires,” she says. “The team immediately jumped into action to support us, file the claim, and advocate on our behalf. We had so much to worry about and so much to think about, but we were—and still are—grateful that MMA has been with us to lead the detailed and extensive claims process.”

Pendergast explains that the insurance market in Hawaii is difficult because of the islands’ exposure to heavy wind and rain, and natural disasters: hurricanes, floods, volcanoes, earthquakes, and case in point, fires.

“We are challenged in this marketplace to find really good carriers, and in this case, we were pretty blessed to find the right carriers that could help in their time of need,” he says. “I talked to Jackie a dozen times in the first week and told her it didn’t matter what her questions were, she could call me day or night and we’ll be here for her. That’s the relationship we have.”

Making an impact in the aftermath

Once T S Restaurants accounted for their team, they started working on other ways to help. With fundraising efforts beginning to pick up across the country in response to the devastation, T S Restaurants leaned on its own foundation, the Legacy of Aloha Foundation, as a fundraising mechanism.

“We knew that we had the 726 employee families we could impact immediately,” Reed explains. “The founders’ families matched the first $500,000 of donations made to the foundation, and to date, our foundation has granted more than $2 million to families who suffered loss. We also included families of Maui Brewing Co. Restaurants (owned by one of the owners of T S Restaurants). Within three weeks of the fire, we were able to start issuing grants to our employees. We knew that the money was not going to make up for all the devastating loss, but it was a way for us to give out money quickly to people who needed it.”

The assistance from T S Restaurants did not stop with monetary donations. They also had boots on the ground providing food and assistance to an entire community trying to survive after they lost everything.

After a week, Corporate Chef Scott McGill led a team to open Leilani’s, a T S Restaurant on Maui’s nearby Ka’anapali shore, to provide meals for employees and their families.

“Anyone who worked for us and their family could come down to Leilani’s and they would make them lunch for free and provide a space for them to be together. We did that for three weeks, and as time went on, we opened it up to the community,” says Reed.

The Kimo’s leadership team was also out in the community, helping in whatever way they could, from working with other kitchens and relief agencies to helping staff the Duke’s FEMA pickup spot. Reed says this effort is exemplary of the ‘ohana spirit that simply pervades the entire island.

“Everyone on the island just figured out a way to help one another. It’s not necessarily specific to T S Restaurants,” she says. “That’s how the community is. No one only thinks of themselves. That’s how Maui is and that’s how Hawaii is, and they exemplified that spirit during the worst possible time for them.

“It took 23 minutes for the town of Lahaina to burn down,” she continues. “There was a tremendous amount of loss, but also an even more tremendous amount of resilience and strength and courage and aloha that they showed to their community. They’ve gone through a lot, but they survived and will continue to survive and thrive thanks to their ‘ohana.”

Now, more than a year after the fires, there are still ongoing cleanup efforts. It may have taken only minutes for the town to burn, but the recovery will be long and challenging. T S Restaurants will be there every step of the way. They found positions in other locations for every employee from Kimo’s who was available and able to work, and they continue to support their team and the community in any way they can, as has always been part of their mission.

“We don’t just treat them like family, they are our family,” Reed says.

“‘Ohana is our first value. The company was founded nearly 50 years ago by two best friends who raised their family in the business. A lot of us have actual family members who work for T S—my brother, cousins, and son all work here. The entire company is truly a T S ‘ohana, and it is absolutely our responsibility to take care of everyone,” she continues. “It is a tragedy—there is nothing that can take that away. But the people of Maui and the people of Lahaina are strong. They have always taken care of one another and will continue to do so.”

Just as T S Restaurants has continued to advocate for its employees and community, MMA has continued to aid in relief efforts. Insurance aside, Pendergast and his teammate Jennifer Reyes, principal, risk and loss advisors, made sure their commitment to T S Restaurants extended beyond business.

“We go to every restaurant every year, and as the risk management piece of this partnership, she was essential in supporting them after this disaster,” Pendergast says. “She raised money and donated, and together, we got people to open wallets and do whatever they could do to help.”

Reyes credits her colleague for being “a voice of stability and reassurance in the moments that matter.”

In February, six months after the disaster, Pendergast and Reyes made their first post-fire visit to Maui to meet with the T S team on the ground, assess the damage, engage in strategic discussions about risk control and disaster preparedness, and simply be a listening ear for their clients and friends.

“What we typically do on our annual visits is have a round table discussion about disaster plans, safety, and risk control for any type of emergency—whether it be fire, wind, or flood, from both internal and external sources. We assess roof vents, gas lines, water lines, and cooking surfaces. We’re looking to help them put protocols in place to A, prevent something from happening, and B, if something does happen, prepare to handle it to make sure their guests and their ‘ohana are as safe as they could possibly be,” Pendergast explains.

“But beyond the safety and risk control, a lot of what we do is sit, have a meal, talk and listen to the restaurant team, ‘Tell us what’s going on, what are your challenges and struggles?”’ he continues. “Our first visit after the fire, we were really there to hear their stories and find out what we could do to assist. Hearing some of the stories was heart wrenching—to know that a place where so many of them had spent decades working was gone. That was hard for them, and in turn hard for us because we’re attached to it as well.

“But what really stood out was knowing how much they’d overcome and how good they have all been at picking themselves up and rebounding,” he says. “It was so inspiring to see that while the T S Restaurants team was trying to get themselves up and running again, they were still doing things for the community.”

Pendergast and team have an end-of-year visit planned as well, to strategize new ways to improve safety protocols and abate risk, as well as continue to nurture the relationship that means so much to everyone involved.

For Pendergast, it’s relationships like the one with T S Restaurants that makes working in the insurance industry so special.

“Over time, you develop partnerships with clients where you work through problems with them and try to do the best job you can for them,” he concludes. “I have had clients for more than 20 years, and they become part of your life. It’s not just a job; it’s relationships, it’s friendships, and it’s important—especially in times like this—because these people put their faith and trust in you, and you can’t let them down.”

Reed echoes Pendergast’s sentiment.

“We have enjoyed a wonderful friendship with our MMA team for many years, and that friendship and level of trust gave us comfort because we knew for sure we had the best, most dedicated, and hardest-working insurance professionals on our team,” she concludes. “Having the extraordinary level of support from MMA and confidence in their professionalism and care was invaluable during such a difficult and tragic time.”

The Legacy of Aloha

With family and community at the core of the T S Restaurants organization, the company’s foundation, Legacy of Aloha, serves as an integral component in times of need. In the wake of the August 2023 wildfires, the foundation was able to grant more than $2 million to individuals and families in need.

Raquel Mayo, an employee at Hula Grill Ka’anapali, says, “The grants that my family and I received from the Legacy of Aloha Foundation have given us a big sense of relief.”

Her coworker Joshua Cleverly adds, “The grants have impacted me in a profound way. They were able to give me a peace of mind that I wasn’t able to have before, the stability that I really needed in those troubling times.”

Malia Pasqua, an employee at Leilani’s on the Beach, adds, “They have helped us with housing, helped us with food, anything we possibly needed after the fire—that’s where the Legacy of Aloha helped me and my ‘ohana.”

Finally, Bula Haywood, who works at Duke’s Maui, concludes, “To have that support means everything. When you have your company like that—T S have your back like that—it takes away the stress and makes everything easier.”