Restauranteurs are hoping to strike gold with Aurum Maui, a new restaurant that just opened on the Valley Isle.
At the helm of the restaurant, which opened July 19 in a 4,700-square-foot space at The Shops at Wailea, are Maui locals Taylor and Natasha Ponte, a husband-and-wife team with a culinary background who even met while working in the industry.
Aurum — the Latin word for gold — is a culinary brand from Colorado-based Destination Hospitality Group. This is its first expansion to the Islands. Taylor is chef partner while Natasha is general manager partner.
The restaurant, open daily from noon to 9 p.m. for lunch and dinner, offers New American cuisine that's rooted in locally sourced ingredients.
“Bringing Aurum to Maui marks a bold evolution in our mission to craft extraordinary dining experiences in iconic destinations,” Phillips Armstrong, CEO and founder of Destination Hospitality Group, said in an announcement Tuesday. “Through our partnership with Taylor and Natasha, we’re delivering the Aurum brand with authenticity and purpose, while contributing to the evolution of Maui’s dynamic culinary landscape.”
“It’s incredibly meaningful for my wife Natasha and I to bring a local lens to the Aurum experience,” Taylor Ponte said in the announcement. “We’re not only utilizing Hawai‘i’s ingredients — we’re telling stories through them. Every dish reflects our roots, our growth and the richness of this place we call home.”
Aloha State Daily spoke with the Pontes in June, ahead of the restaurant's opening.
At that time, Taylor said that he hoped to kick the endeavor off with a "great response from the community."
"I think my largest goals are just to have a place to showcase what we're doing and create a great environment for culinarians as well as all hospitality workers," he said then. "I'm very ambitious as far as what I'd like the restaurant to get in awards of cuisine, but I'm working to create the best product I can [out] of what I have and what I'm working with and the team I'm working with. My largest goal is just to make a delicious meal for everyone who comes in, in a beautiful space with great service. Everything else will come if we put all of our blood, sweat and tears in that and to supporting our team to being able to sustain that."
According to the announcement, the menu showcases “gold standard” dishes using fresh, locally sourced ingredients from Maui farms and fisheries, including Hua Momona Farms, Lopes Farm, Lapa‘au Farm, and Kona Kanpachi. There's also a selection of gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan offerings, a dedicated keiki menu and desserts.
"Aurum Maui emphasizes fresh, local sourcing through partnerships with top island farms and fisheries," the announcement notes. "Menus are built around seasonal produce, sustainable seafood and whole-animal utilization, supporting both flavor and Maui’s agricultural heritage."
Full menus can be found here.
Golden Hour is the restaurant’s "elevated Happy Hour" offered daily from 3 to 5 p.m. Aurum Maui also offers a 10% kama‘āina discount on à la carte food and beverages, excluding Happy Hour.
Reservations can be made online at OpenTable.
Contact
Aurum Maui
The Shops at Wailea, 3750 Wailea Alanui Dr. Unit B-27 (lower level, near the performance area)
Instagram and Facebook: @AurumMaui
Open daily, noon to 9 p.m. Happy Hour from 3 to 5 p.m.
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Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
