Tin Roof is trading its usual takeout routine for a full-on neighborhood thank-you: Chef Sheldon Simeon and his team will turn the Kahului parking lot into a free community pāʻina this Sunday as the Maui restaurant marks 10 years on the island. The celebration starts at 5 p.m., giving the little lunch spot’s anniversary a distinctly local flavor.
According to Maui Now, the party will include live music from Chinatown Social Club, food vendors, a beer garden and exclusive Sig on Smith × Tin Roof collaboration releases. The event is free, and the team says it is a mahalo to the Maui community that supported Tin Roof from the beginning.
From Tiny Lunch Counter To Maui Favorite
Tin Roof opened in Kahului in 2016 as a mom-and-pop project from Sheldon and Janice Simeon, after the couple renovated the space themselves, according to Maui Magazine. What began as a compact, affordable spot for local comfort food eventually expanded into dinner service and became closely associated with mochiko chicken, garlic noodles and other island-style staples.
The restaurant’s own website describes Tin Roof as a family-owned business built around food, home and relationships with local farmers, fishermen, ranchers and artisans. Its current operation remains takeout-focused, but the anniversary event will temporarily turn the normally utilitarian setting into a communal gathering place.
A Decade Marked By More Than Restaurant Milestones
Tin Roof’s community focus also showed up during the pandemic, when The Maui News reported that the restaurant prepared 120 meals a day for 11 days for older residents. After the Lahaina fires, Simeon was among the local chefs who helped prepare meals for displaced residents and first responders; the University of Hawaiʻi said a Maui College kitchen produced 4,000 meals on Aug. 10, 2023, with thousands more planned.
That history helps explain why a decade-old restaurant is celebrating with an open invitation instead of a private dinner. For one evening, Tin Roof’s parking lot will be less grab-and-go counter and more island block party—with plenty of garlic noodles likely involved.
