Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 8, 1 ʻAukake 2021 — Kalei's Luneh Box Serves Aloha and Hope NEWS FOR THE LĀHUI [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kalei's Luneh Box Serves Aloha and Hope NEWS FOR THE LĀHUI

ByTammyMori You ean smell the 'ono grinds coming from Kalei s Luneh Box before you even get to the counter. Located in Kahului, Maui (just past Costeo), this luneh wagon is a favorite with hungry kama'āina and has heeome so popular that in May 2021, owners Fran and Aaron Kalei Heath opened a second Kalei's Luneh Box as a storefront at the Pukalani Terrace Shopping Center. Kalei's is not only known for their delicious loeal food, but also for their commitment to serving the Maui community a daily dose of aloha, hope, and resilience. "We are excited to open up a second location! It will take our journey full circle - [Pukalani is] where I started my first restaurant, and where my kids were born and raised," said Aaron. "We have eome a long way with blood, sweat, tears, support, and love. We are so thankful to our customers - thank you for choosing us, thank you for enjoying our food!" Aaron has been working in the culinary industry since high school. He started out washing dishes at Kula Lodge. He then attended Maui Culinary, worked as sous chef at the Marriott Ka'anapali, and eventually opened two restaurants upcountry. His wife and business partner, Fran, has a background in hospitality as a wedding and event planner. When Aaron and Fran got married in 2017 (a second marriage for both of them) they blended their families and backgrounds and started over. Aaron worked two cooking jobs. Fran continued to work at the Montage Kapalua while running her own company, Aloha Aisles. Together, their skill sets and work experience made it possible to open Kalei's Luneh Box. "It's truly a labor of love," smiled Fran. "We have a lot of passion and we get so many compliments about our staff for the aloha we all give. For us, we are Kānaka. It is not just a word - we live it, serve it, and are very proud of it. We mālama every customer. My husband creates and cooks for the kama'āina."

Kalei's Luneh Box is known for their moehiko ehieken, ehow fun, homemade hamburger, shoyu ehieken, beef stew, and breaded beef and pork teri. "What helps Kalei's Lunchbox is that the food is always consistent. It's the same recipes and preparation - only Chef Aaron oversees the recipes. And everything is cooked fresh," said Fran. Kalei's Lunchbox has long offered a $5 Cheap Eats plate onee-a-week to loyal customers. Cheap Eats plates include roasted pulled pork with gravy, roast beef, cheesesteak and more. When the pandemic hit, they began offering the Cheap Eats plate mukiple times a week to take care of kama'āina. "It's not just about the money," said Fran. "We have a passion for serving and feeding the community. We take care of our frontline workers. We have always given discounts to firefighters and poliee in uniform. Since the pandemic, we expanded the discount to include paramedics, airport poliee, and lifeguards. We are all in this together." Kalei's Luneh Box also takes part in two programs that help feed our kūpuna: Kaunoa Senior Services and the Office of Aging meal voucher program. During the pandemic, they also began offering free plate lunches to their communities and designated businesses and organizations. "We got together with a few friends to feed the hungry," explains Fran. "Then it heeame a monthly thing where were donating between 400 600 plates a month. In August 2020, we took a break when we lost my 97-year-old mother to COVID. And in September, we decided to feed the entire Maui Medical Center staff luneh as a thank you for all they do for our eommunity and for caring for my mom." Kalei's Luneh Box also launched a new campaign this summer to make sure the keiki and kūpuna are

fed during the summer months when school is out. "We want to give back where we ean. We basically started with nothing. We thank God for our friends, the Wengs [Danielle Dang and Thomas Weng], who believed in our dream and invested in us," said Fran. "We are also thankful to OHA Mālama Loans for providing the funding we needed to continue to grow. "When you know what it's like to have nothing, you don't forget where you eome from. And even when we had very little, it didn't matter because this is our passion. Truly, it's not what you don't have, but what you do with what you do have." ■

Beef stew lunches for the Kaunoa Seniors Program. Kalei's Luneh Box provided luneh for the kūpuna when schools were closed. They offered Deef stew on Tuesdays, whieh was a crowd favorite.

With help, in part, from OHA Mūlama Loans, Fran and Aaron Kalei Heath, owners of the popular Kahului food truck, Kalei's Luneh Box, recently opened a second location - a storefront in Pukalani. Pictured here (l-r) are Aaron, Fran, and Aaron's daughter, Hunter Heath. Hunter runs the fooa truck. - Photos: Courtesy

Kalei's Luneh Box donated food to the staff at Maui Memorial Hospital to mahalo them for taking care of Fran's mom who passed away in 2020 after battling C0VID-19.