Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice is now open for business in the South Bay. NBC 7’s Adonis Albright was there for the grand opening.
Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice now has a new location in Chula Vista. The grand opening was on Saturday, and dozens of people waited in line to try some shaved ice.
The business originally started in Lahaina in 2008. As CEO and co-founder, David Yamashiro explains, the financial crisis of that time made it hard for businesses to thrive.
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WATCH HERE"There were some days that I was there from 10 in the morning until midnight, and I would only serve 10 to 25 shaved ice the entire day," said Yamashiro.
Then came the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, where very few businesses were booming. So when the Maui wildfires in August of 2023 tore through neighborhoods, Ululani's suffered another devastating blow. Two of their locations, including one of their warehouses, were burned to the ground.
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SIGN UP "When we lost our shop during the fires, it's where the loss was at its greatest," said Yamashiro. "It was pretty much a horrendous time. The subsequent shutdown of tourism to Lahaina -- we shut down another shop as a result," Yamashiro added.
Now, a new location has found a home in Chula Vista. On Sunday, dozens more people waited in the humid weather to try some of the location's iconic shaved ice.
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"It's our first time, so we're super excited," said Ashley Daen, a customer who came with her family to try out the new spot. "We've been keeping our eye on it. We're locals and we've just been waiting, and so we're excited to be here," said Daen.
At least two of the workers at the new Ululani's location came from Hawaii to San Diego. Yamashiro said both he and his staff are excited to keep doing what they love and bring a taste of the Aloha State to the Golden State.
"Thank you to the Chula Vista community, thank you, Maui, thank you, Hawaii, we love you," said Yamashiro.
Ululani's has served more than eight million shaved ice products since first opening up shop about 17 years ago.
