CARMEL — As members of Indiana Task Force 1 head to Hawaii, one Central Indiana Restaurant is stepping up to help with relief efforts.
A2Z Café in Carmel is considered a Hawaiian themed oasis.
The restaurant is decked out in Hawaiian decor, clothing, even menu items.
The owners aren't from Hawaii but say they spend a significant amount of time there, the locals have become more like family to them.
"The people who have already lost their homes and loved are still coming together, to spread that aloha feeling and it's incredible. It will bring tears to your eyes,” owner Gina Rosenow said.
Rosenow says to see a place she loves burn is devastating.
"It's not like having been through a hurricane where you might find a picture thrown around, this is totally ashes," she said.
The restaurant is a slice of heaven for Tom and Gina Rosenow, who say they opened the restaurant almost 9 years ago.
"It's really bad," Rosenow said.
The conversations during the lunch rush sound a little different these days.
"How do you replace a 150-year-old Banyan Tree, the pioneer inn that's been there since the 1800's how to you replace that?," Rosenow said.
The beautiful landscape in Lahaina is now the site of devastation. Hundreds of homes destroyed, killing more than 100 people.
"Your mouth just drops you are speechless, there is nothing you can say. The vibrancy of that street and the total gray and emptiness now it's indescribable," she said.
Which is why the couple says they are doing what they can to give back to the people in need.
They say they are going to hold a fundraiser to help.
"These are people with lives there. There's people who work at the gas station there, work in the hospitals there," Rosenow said.
The restaurant is hosting a Luau in October, details can be found on their Facebook page.
