Meet Qiana and Michele di Bari, the Owners of Sale Pepe in Lahaina

After being destroyed in the Lahaina wildfires, the owners rebuilt their restaurant with steadfast commitment and love for their West Maui community. They also recently opened a new spot at Whalers Village in Kāʻanapali.

In the heart of Lahaina, diners could count on savoring bowls of pasta made with quality flour from Italy and seasonal ingredients grown on Maui.   

For years, Sale Pepe Pizzeria e Cucina was the neighborhood’s go-to spot for celebrating birthdays and anniversaries or just enjoying Italian cuisine.   

Since the beloved restaurant fell to the Maui wildfires in 2023, owners Qiana and Michele di Bari have been passionately working to not only reopen the place, but to keep it rooted in Lahaina. Sale Pepe reopened in March 2025 at Lahaina’s Emerald Plaza Center.  

For the di Baris, providing a safe and welcoming place for their community was the driving force to reopen the restaurant in Lahaina.  

“I missed seeing people celebrate their birthday every year, or watching the kids grow up,” Qiana di Bari says. “We were a part of people’s narratives, and I can’t wait to get back to that.”  

At the new restaurant, diners can expect to find Sale Pepe’s classic dishes along with exciting new additions. For the restaurateurs, it’s imperative to keep up with the latest dining trends. “We want to bring what’s happening in the world to Lahaina. I don’t want Lahaina left behind—in any way,” says Qiana di Bari.  

In addition to the new spot at Emerald Plaza Center, the di Baris recently opened Via! by Sale Pepe, at Whalers Village in Kāʻanapali. The restaurant, which opened in July 2025, features a menu of build-your-own pastas, with options from rigatoni and fusilli to spaghetti. Diners can pair their pasta with signature sauces like basil pesto, marinara or parmesan cream. At the pizza counter, you can also find slices of New York-style and Roman-style pizza. 

What’s your background as a chef and restaurateur?  

Michele: My main teacher was my mom. I didn’t go to school; I just watched my mom. Then I started to work in different restaurants. I was in Milan, Germany, New York.   

In New York, we opened 10 restaurants in the span of 18 years, but we did it with partners. Sale Pepe was the first restaurant we opened on our own. I put all my heart and soul into it, not that I wasn’t doing that before; it’s just different when it’s just you and your wife.  

What’s your favorite memory when it comes to cooking?    

Michele: My favorite memory is of seeing my mom make homemade pasta on Sunday mornings. She would start to make the sauce, then cook the meat and you start to smell it while you’re still sleeping. She then made pasta by hand. That’s my best memory because it brings me to my mom. 

Are there any new dishes you’re excited to share at this iteration of Sale Pepe? 

Qiana: I’m excited because we’re going to start making gnocchi every day and we’re going to put it on the menu. We might be able to put ravioli on the menu, too. Those were only specials before because of the time it took. But we figured out a way to make it possible.   

I’m also excited because we have a lot of friends who eat gluten free. Now, we’ll offer every pasta in a gluten-free iteration. There will also be gluten-free pizza.  

How would you describe the ambience of the new restaurant?   

Qiana: We’re trying to give Lahaina something special. I want people to feel good, loved, fancy. I want them to forget about the world when they walk inside.  

We’re trying to create this sense that if the outside world feels like a destroyed Kansas, then it’s like “The Wizard of Oz” when you walk in. There’s a lot of vibrant colors and it’s very rich; it’s an elevated and mature iteration of Sale Pepe.  

What has the community support been like since the wildfires?  

Qiana: It’s just been overwhelming. We lived in Lahaina, and our house was only one of four in our neighborhood that survived. But we couldn’t live there. We’ve been displaced for the last year and a half while we’ve been working on this project.  

Two team members took it upon themselves to start a Go Fund Me—unbeknownst to us. They immediately pegged it for the rebuilding; they committed us before they heard our voices—they just knew us that well. It raised $100,000. We’ve also gotten support from organizations like the Maui Pono Foundation, to help us with our grease trap expenses.   

We know we are lifted up. We know that as hard as this has been, people have been looking out for us.   

What are you most excited about with the reopening of the restaurant? 

Qiana: I’m excited to play, to wow people and up the ante. I’m also excited to be a Lahaina pioneer and be a part of the group of people that are rebuilding. Twenty years from now, we’re going to talk about this and say, “Hey, I was there rebuilding.”   

salepepemaui.com, @salepepemaui. 

This interview was edited for length and clarity. 

This story was originally published in our SPRING/SUMMER 2025 issue, which you can buy here. Better yet, subscribe and get HAWAIʻI Magazine delivered to right to your mailbox.

Grace Maeda is the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.