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With passing of founders, next generation carries on Mama’s Fish House legacy

Team in place is ‘not changing’ the iconic Kuau establishment

Karen Christenson (left) and nephew Eldon Christenson stand at the entrance to their family’s restaurant, Mama’s Fish House, on Tuesday. Karen Christenson now leads the restaurant since her parents, founders Floyd and Doris Christenson, have died. Eldon Christenson has returned to Maui to learn the business. — The Maui News / MELISSA TANJI photo
Doris and Floyd Christenson are pictured on their 57th wedding anniversary on Aug. 14, 2011. — Photo courtesy of Christenson family
KUAU -- It came down to the details for Floyd Christenson and his wife, Doris Christenson, the inseparable adventurous couple who built up the famous, half-century-old Mama's Fish House. Floyd was constantly tinkering with the restaurant's daily menu, down to the fonts and paper type, and catching errors like extra spaces after words. And, if a menu item wasn't selling, he would reword the dish's description, which made the item sell. Doris, or "Mama Doris," would look through the restaurant's directory of more than 100 employees, and if she didn't recognize a name, she would go down to the worker's department and meet them. She also went around to the restaurant tables, greeting customers and sometimes taking a lucky grandchild in tow. But it was also the couple's love for their employees and commitment to consistent quality that molded the iconic fish house restaurant, family members and employees recalled, just weeks after Floyd died on Nov. 18. The 88-year-old's passing comes more than a year after Doris died on June 24, 2021. Services are pending, said daughter Karen Christenson, who's now tasked with carrying on the legacy of her parents and the business. She said her parents prepared a long time ago for what would happen to the restaurant in the future. When Karen committed to the business decades ago, "they said, 'OK, then the restaurant is going to survive us.' " "I said, 'If that's your goal, sure. And I would like it to survive me too,' " Karen recalled telling her parents. "It definitely was a decision that they made a long time ago that was what they wanted." She said that before their passing, her parents already set in place a team "that's really been running Mama's with mom and dad's very careful guidance," and it is "not changing." Along with Karen at the helm, the former owners' grandson and Karen's nephew, Eldon Christenson, has come back to Maui to learn the business. "It's something really special and it's taken care of so many families. I feel like my grandparents was almost like hanai parents and grandparents to so many people on this island, and I really hope to continue that," Eldon said. "Because I really like how it's a family business and also takes care of so many other families." "I really think that is an important part of the business and I hope to keep that strong," he added. Eldon, who grew up on the bottom floor below what is now a restaurant office, said his grandparents were "storytellers" and "their life was straight out of a storybook, and I think their restaurant does a really good job sharing that kind of storytelling atmosphere that they lived. And so every aspect of the business is built on that and even in the menus." He referred to the restaurant menu that lists the boats which caught the fresh fish, along with the fisherman. "People come back for that," he said. "That's one reason why I'm back here. I want to continue that. I love that part of it. My grandma, all she did was tell stories. I really want to instill that and cherish that part of the business," he said. Before starting the restaurant in 1973, the couple lived an adventurous life. In 1960, before Karen was born, they set sail from San Diego and headed for the South Pacific. They prepared for about a year prior to the voyage. At the time, Karen's brother, Keith Christenson, was 2 1/2 years old. The family sailed to various destinations in the South Pacific, learning about the food and culture that would influence their famous restaurant. Areas they sailed to included the islands of Marquesas and Tahiti, where Karen was born, along with Tonga and New Zealand. The restaurant dining room has collectibles and artwork from their voyages and also things Karen has brought back from those areas from more recent travels. Some items made from Maui are also on display. The family also battled a hurricane while on their boat "Marinero," and it was across the cockpit of the vessel that Karen learned to walk. After a stay in French Polynesia, friends from Lahaina told them in letters about plans to develop Maui as a tourist destination. The couple felt if they were going to open a restaurant, it would be on Maui, a place they had visited before. The couple moved to the Valley Isle, with Floyd becoming one of the founders of the Lahaina Yacht Club in 1965, where he learned about the food-and-beverage business, his daughter said. The couple later established their restaurant on Maui's north shore, a far cry from Kaanapali. They served fresh fish, while all other restaurants were steakhouses, Karen said. At the time, fresh fish was cheaper than it is now, and as a plus, the fishermen would deliver to an area where others did not. Customers came, and later as repeat tourists returned to Maui, they ventured outside the resort areas and stopped at Mama's after a trip to Hana. Karen said her mother was never a chef at the restaurant, although she describes her as a "gourmet cook" who would make everything in Julia Child's cookbook. Her mom would help with fine-tuning the restaurant's recipes. Asked what makes the food at Mama's so good, "the only thing I can say is love," Karen said. "You have to cook with love in your heart, for your job, for what you are doing, for your work ohana," she said, chuckling about how hot it is in the kitchen. "These guys find a way (to cook) and believe that the love that my parents shared with everyone else, it trickled down," she said. General Manager Tami Joslin called it an "honor" to work for the couple who were "very supportive" and were mentors for the workers. Joslin who has been with the restaurant for 25 years and said she would speak to Floyd often, whether early in the morning or even several times before she made it though the work door. But he was always respectful of workers' time. "They were just incredible people and they laid such an amazing foundation for us to follow," said Joslin, who got emotional over Floyd's recent death. "They all set us up for success." Executive Chef Perry Bateman, who has been with the restaurant for 35 years, also reflected upon the couple's foundation as a recipe for success. Bateman said what makes the food so good is that they taste the dishes, their "ingredients are coming from the best people" and "because we respect, honor, appreciate and love each other." "And that's why it tastes so good. That special ingredient in there, is our love for it," he said. Bateman added that the founders built special relationships with their suppliers and he continued them. "It really ensured that the quality we had was going to be ... the best quality possible," Bateman said, pointing out that it makes the job "less complicated" when you have good ingredients. Reflecting on the late Christensons, Bateman said, "They are reunited." "They were like my family, like my mom and dad, like my grandpa and grandma. They meant the world to me. They are amazing people that helped bring so many people together," he said. Doris Christenson is survived by her sister Beverly Nusser of Bellingham, Wash. Floyd Christenson is survived by his brother Edward Christenson of Sacramento, Calif., and by his sister Marilyn Christenson of San Rafael, Calif. They are also survived by their children, Keith Douglas Christenson of Haiku and Karen Louise Christenson (Fotios Tassopoulos) of Wailuku, as well as by their grandchildren, Ian Christen Marshall, Kelly Oden Marshall, Eldon Christenson, Leila Christenson and Casey Christenson (Sarah) who have great-grandchildren Oliver Christenson and Lucy Rose Christenson. * Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com. ** This story has been changed from its original print edition. [gallery ids="1049081,1049080"]

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