Aloha Cowboy • Makawao, Maui
by Suzanne Kayian

Imagine meandering into a charming little town where the storefronts look like movie sets from a 1920s Western, complete with wooden sidewalks and hitching posts. Makawao in Upcountry Maui is such a place.

Perched atop rolling pastures and nestled under a forest of Eucalyptus trees, this upcountry jewel is a Paniolo town—a true-blue cowboy village where every morning, folks sit on storefront steps, have coffee and talk story. It's an off-the-beaten-path destination where cars share the narrow, two-lane road with riders on horseback. Or is it the other way around?

One local merchant, Rene Wineland, sums up Makawao perfectly. “We have no stoplights in town and our street cleaners are chickens,” she says, laughing.

Rene is the Grand Madame of Aloha Cowboy—a family affair and a western store that celebrates Makawao's Paniolo flavor while standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the art galleries and exquisite boutiques that sit within the unassuming storefronts.

Walking into Aloha Cowboy, the first thing you notice is the smell of leather. Looking around you discover a wondrous little store that is packed to the brim with everything from western wear, horse tack and bull-riding equipment to unique gift items, collectibles and souvenirs.

Aloha Cowboy isn't a theme store, however.  They carry a top-notch line of high-quality gear used by most of the working cattle people, bull-riders and horse owners in the area.

The Hawaiians have a word, “ho’opaniolo,” which means “to be like a cowboy” or “pretend to be a cowboy.” Makawao isn’t a ho’opaniolo town, Rene says, and Aloha Cowboy isn't a ho'opaniolo store.

“It's not about trying to dress up like a cowboy,” Rene says. However, if you know a child who beams at the thought of horses, Aloha Cowboy is just the place. “We're a grandparent's delight,” she says.

Suddenly Rene stops talking; she hears a customer from Italy asking to try on cowboy boots. “I'm the boot queen,” she proudly says as she rushes off to make sure the gentleman is fitted well.

Whether it's a tourist from a faraway land or a local girl buying a “bling bling” headstock for her horse, there is one thing Rene's customers always leave the store with —plans to return to Aloha Cowboy -- even if it's just to drop by and say “howdy” on the way to the rodeo.