After a few months of renovations and menu planning, Manoli’s Pizza Company has opened in Wailea, just above the Shops of Wailea. Manoli’s has big shoes to fill as they take over the location left by Matteo’s after they closed down in the Spring of 2012 to focus on family. Don’t let the Greek name fool you, thin crust pizza is the house speciality at Manoli’s. In fact, other than a salad – that is all you will find at Manoli’s. This has been a little mis-leading for some recent guests I’ve spoken to about their first experience. Friends of ours went expecting to enjoy a pasta dish (something Matteo’s was very good at) and were disappointed they could only have pizza. The food here has been given mixed reviews and could very well be chalked up to their beginning, however since Aaron Placourakis, the owner of Manoli’s, has connections to Nick’s Fish Market you would expect the food to be on par from the beginning. Prices are typical to Maui; a small cheese pizza (12″) starts at $14 and their large (16″) Meat Pizza is $26. The two salads they offer are $8 and $9 respectively and seem a little lacking in size for these prices. On the flip side, their $8.00 Cosmos are tasty and certainly a “value” compared to other locations in Wailea. One aspect that has not changed from the days of Matteo’s is the view. You can still look out toward Molokini and the Pacific Ocean to remind you that you are on Maui (or perhaps Crete as the namesake was born there). A big change from Matteo’s is the sitting policy, unlike the previous establishment at Manoli’s you are greeted by a server and taken to your specific table where you order and enjoy your meal. Manoli’s is open daily from 11:30 AM to 10:00 PM. As always, we welcome comments about our posts and always welcome ideas for new topics. Mahalo, Matt