By 5:45 p.m. on the third Friday of the month, the barricades are already going up at the corner of Baldwin and Makawao Avenues. The horses are back in the pasture at Oskie Rice, the Stampede grandstand is quiet again, and the sidewalk in front of Komoda smells like cream puffs instead of arena dust. If you live Upcountry, this is the pocket of the calendar you have been waiting for: rodeo season closed, holiday visitors thinning, and the town returning to a monthly rhythm that belongs mostly to the people who actually live here.
Here is the argument this post wants to make. Baldwin Avenue is not one economy. It is two, running side by side inside the same wooden storefronts, and Third Friday is the one night a month when both of them are open at the same time. Learning to move between them, in order, is what turns an evening in town into something more than a walk.
The two Baldwin Avenues
The "old" Baldwin is easy to name. T. Komoda Store & Bakery opened in 1916 just a few blocks from its current location and is one of the oldest businesses on Maui. Polli's has been a favorite Makawao restaurant for locals, visitors, bikers, artists, and paniolo since 1981. Viewpoints Gallery, housed in a kelly green building, is Maui's only fine arts cooperative. These are storefronts your parents took you to.
The "new" Baldwin is younger than most people realize. Makawao Public House opened at the end of 2024 in the former Makawao Steak House space and topped the list of best new restaurants in HAWAI'I Magazine's Readers' Choice Awards in 2025, paying tribute to the area's heritage with Island-inspired dishes like mochiko 'ahi bites, birria ramen and kalbi-braised short ribs. Vida by Sip Me, tucked into a bungalow off Baldwin, is where the mushroom chai latte comes from. Haku Maui sits off Baldwin Avenue surrounded by verdant foliage, with lei handcrafted by owner Britney Texeira, who also holds workshops where you can craft your own lei with locally grown materials.
Put them next to each other and the pattern gets useful:
| Baldwin Avenue institution | Opened | What earns the stop |
|---|---|---|
| T. Komoda Store & Bakery | 1916 | Cream puffs, malasadas, glazed doughnuts on sticks |
| Polli's Mexican Restaurant | 1981 | Margaritas and the bar crowd after 6 |
| Hali'imaile General Store | Late 1980s | Bev Gannon's original room, still running |
| Viewpoints Gallery | Long-running | Fine-arts cooperative in the green building |
| Maui Cookie Lady | Newer | Recognized on Good Morning America in December as one of the country's best cookie delivery services in 2025 |
| Vida by Sip Me | Recent | Mushroom chai in the emerald bungalow |
| Haku Maui | Recent | Lei workshops with locally grown materials |
| Makawao Public House | Late 2024 | 2025 Readers' Choice best new restaurant |
The reason this matters on a Third Friday, and not on a random Tuesday, is that both columns open their doors after dark on the same night. On every third Friday of the month Makawao hosts a block party with food and crafts vendors, free live entertainment and music, and Baldwin Avenue closes to vehicle traffic and becomes a pedestrian marketplace. The festivities stretch from the area of the public library on Makawao Avenue around the corner down Baldwin Avenue to the intersection of Brewer Road, with most businesses staying open until 9 p.m.
Where Third Friday sits in the wider calendar
If you are new to Upcountry, or you moved back after a stretch away, one detail worth internalizing: Makawao is only one Friday of four. On the first Friday of every month the street party is in Wailuku on Market Street, the second Friday in Lahaina on Front Street, the third Friday in Makawao on Baldwin Avenue, and the fourth Friday in Kihei at Azeka Shopping Center Mauka. Makawao's night is quieter than Kihei's by design. Kihei Fourth Friday is the largest of the Friday parties, which is exactly why residents who want to actually talk to their neighbors pick the third one instead.
"The event always has something different and surprising to offer. One month may feature a classic car show, and another may be holiday themed, or feature an extra special musical performance." — Makawao Town 3rd Friday event notes
The rodeo season that just closed is also worth carrying into your July and August plans. Makawao has been running one of the most authentic rodeos in the United States every Fourth of July weekend for nearly seventy consecutive years, and 2026 carried extra weight, marking 110 years of Kaonoulu Ranch. The town's paniolo identity is not a museum piece. It is why the parade on Saturday, June 27, 9:00 AM along Baldwin Avenue and Makawao Avenue pulls the same families year after year, and why the same storefronts host both a bakery from 1916 and a chef-driven gastropub from 2024 without either feeling out of place.
A walking order for a resident's evening
Skip the "10 things" formatting. Here is one loop, in order, that respects both columns of the table above.
5:30 p.m., before the barricades close the street. Park on Makawao Avenue near the post office. From central Maui the drive is up Haleakalā Highway for about 10 minutes, then left at the third traffic light onto Makawao Avenue and past the residential stretch until you reach parking near the post office. If you live in Haiku or Kula, you already know this.
5:45 p.m., first stop at Komoda. T. Komoda Store & Bakery at 3674 Baldwin Avenue has been running since 1916. Cream puffs sell out early on Third Friday. If they are gone, the glazed doughnut sticks are the fallback.
6:00 p.m., cross the street to Maui Cookie Lady. This is the one moment in the walk where the "old" and "new" Baldwins are literally across the street from each other. A 108-year-old bakery on one side, a 2025 GMA-featured cookie shop on the other. Buy one of each and compare.
6:30 p.m., wander the block. Viewpoints in the kelly green building. Maui Hands for wood, garden art and glass, and its collection of shell lei from the island of Ni'ihau. Holoholo Surf for aloha wear. Haku Maui if the lights are still on inside the foliage.
7:15 p.m., dinner decision. Two workable answers. If you want the crowd, walk into Polli's. If you want the room the town is currently arguing about, book Makawao Public House in advance. Its hours run 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. weeknights and 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and Third Friday nights fill early.
8:45 p.m., the walk back to the car. The music on the main stage usually holds until nine. The wooden sidewalks are quiet by 9:15.
When it is not the third Friday
The trap with a Third Friday piece is treating the other three weeks of the month like filler. They are not. A few Upcountry-specific ideas that do not require an event:
- Haku Maui workshops. Britney Texeira's lei sessions use locally grown materials and are one of the few hands-on Hawaiian craft experiences available Upcountry without a resort booking.
- The Sewing Hui. The Maui Face Mask Project started in 2020 when residents began sewing masks for first responders and neighbors, and when pandemic-related work concluded the group evolved into the Sewing Hui and found new ways to help the community. The Sewing Hui meets weekly in a shop in Makawao, and the nonprofit welcomes visitors to spend a morning or afternoon volunteering. This is the least-marketed thing on this list and probably the one that most repays a resident's time.
- A picnic bento run. Pukalani Superette is a short drive away, now under the care of fourth-generation family members after seventy years, with a "Made in Maui" section of sauces, snacks and jams and the same fried "chili chicken," teriyaki meatballs and baked mahi mahi that have kept customers loyal for decades. Fill your cooler and head out for a picnic at nearby Eddie Tam Memorial Park, and don't forget the rice and potato or mac salad.
- A quiet coffee at Vida by Sip Me when Baldwin is not closed to cars and you can actually get a seat.
The takeaway
Makawao is at an unusual moment. The town is old enough that longtime residents miss places like Kitada's and Makawao Sushi & Deli, and new enough that a 2024 gastropub can win a statewide Readers' Choice in its first year. Third Friday is the pressure point where those two Baldwins share the same sidewalk. Walking it in order, from Komoda across to Maui Cookie Lady and down to Makawao Public House, is a small ritual, but it is the one that most reliably reminds you which town you live in.
If your Upcountry weekends feel like they need a new anchor, or you are thinking about how a property in Makawao, Kula, or Pukalani fits into the life you actually live here, Riette Jenkins and the team at Coldwell Banker Global Luxury are happy to talk story. Contact Riette for a private consultation.
