📷: @hapa_shaveice
We love to share how folks of Letterfolk are using their letter boards in their homes, but for this installment, we want to spotlight a company using letter boards the old-fashioned way — as a menu. The Hapa Hawaiian Shave Ice food truck located in Provo, Utah, was started by a husband and wife, Tyler and Brittany Loong. We asked these fellow small business owners about their business and what it’s like to run a shave ice food truck.Â
To start off, tell us a little about Hapa Shave Ice.
Hapa Shave Ice offers a completely unique experience to the traditional shave ice. Hapa strives to maintain a balance between a timeless style mixed with a product that is unforgettable.
What made you decide to start your own business?
We wanted to start something that was truly ours. My wife and I are both ethnic, so we wanted to integrate that into our business, and after some time, we came up with this idea!
What do you do during the winter when Hapa is closed?
In the winter months we shut down with our trailer and focus primarily on catering. We have thought about doing hot chocolate in the winter time but haven't had the courage to give it a shot quite yet. When we are shut down in the winter months, we cater weddings, business events, parties and continue serving our Hapa product. Â
What makes Hapa Shave Ice better than regular snow cones?
Hapa Shave Ice is different than many of your traditional snow cones in the way that the ice is shaved. Most shave ice businesses use a machine that essentially crushes up ice into smaller chunks of ice. This results in a snow cone that is chunky and not very fun to chew on. At Hapa, we take blocks of ice and our machine literally shaves the ice, making it incredibly soft to the tongue and leaving an unforgettable experience. We also take pride in our flavors. We have a large variety of flavors, and we continue to update our menu almost every month. We also typically have some specials that we run.
You have a flavor on your menu called Wedding Cake... does it taste as delicious as it sounds? And can you put it in your freezer for a year?
Our wedding cake flavor gets asked about the most by our customers. They primarily want to know what it tastes like and if people ever order it. Crazy enough, it does taste like wedding cake! It is a light yellow color, and when the Sno Cap is added to it, you might think you are at a wedding. We will get back to you in another couple months — we are still waiting for a full year to try out the frozen wedding cake ;)Â
What's your personal favorite shave ice flavor?
My personal favorite flavor changes almost every month. Recently we introduced a new flavor, Honey Dew Melon, and its my current #1. That's followed by a close second, Blu Coconut.
And what's in store for the future of Hapa Shave Ice?
The future for Hapa is unknown. We want continue with our small business and venture more into the catering category. We love having a store front, but we also want to be included in those moments that mean so much to people. If you are interested in having us cater your event, do not hesitate!Â
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