From Lahaina to Texas: Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice's Journey of Strength and Flavor

David Yamashiro, co-founder of Ululani's Shave Ice 🍧, joins the show! We dive deep into the after-effects of the fires on Maui regarding tourism and the livelihood of the locals. The dialogue uncovers the resilience of Lahaina's community, Ululani's continued commitment to help, and the importance of supporting Maui's other untouched regions.

What we discuss with David Yamashiro:

• Economic strain on locals relying on jobs within the tourism industry.
• Ululani's commitment to aid the affected community.
• Introduction of new Ululani's locations.
• Details about the GoFundMe initiative for relief efforts.
• Appeal to tourists to continue visiting parts of Maui besides Lahaina.
• Challenges of rebuilding Lahaina and uncertainties about its future layout.

The resources mentioned in this episode are:

• Ululani's GoFundMe Page
• Ululani's Website

👉 Full show notes and resources can be found here: hawaiisbesttravel.com/episode105

Transcript

105-Ululanis_01

[00:00:00] Bryan Murphy: Coming up on Hawaiʻi's Best. 

[00:00:02] David Yamashiro - Ululani's Shave Hawaiian Ice: He took his family to safety and then he went back in, numerous times, to the fire zone and, and to help, you know, when that was going on, was going on, and his name is Kekoa Lansford. In my eyes, he's a hero. Aloha. Welcome to Hawaii's Best. Here you'll learn what to know before traveling as we discover Hawaiian culture, local businesses, and the experiences that make Hawaii one of the most incredible places in the world.

[00:00:36] And now, your host, Brian Murphy. 

[00:00:40] Bryan Murphy: Aloha, thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of Hawaii's Best. Today we are continuing our series. It's all about Maui and specifically how to help support the people of Maui and its local businesses. Thinking about the news on Maui, one of the biggest things right now is the decline in [00:01:00] tourism on Maui.

[00:01:01] I'm sure if you are thinking about visiting or if you have a trip planned in the near future, you're probably. Paying pretty close attention to that and some of these stories that have come out in the last couple weeks on this podcast have highlighted some of those local businesses and have confirmed the Huge dip kind of pandemic level of drop in tourism now why the official response right now and there's a lot of confusion that first week about postponing, canceling trips from officials and locals and Hawaiian celebrities, not sure what else to call some of the Hawaiian celebrity influencers.

[00:01:45] I'm sure. You know who I'm referring to when there was need to assess what was going on and what was needed in Lahaina town. And since then the messaging has been a lot clearer from officials as far as [00:02:00] Maui is definitely open for visitors. Lahaina is off limits, closed. Don't go to Lahaina. Lahaina is on the west side.

[00:02:11] The west side is also closed at the time of this recording. Having said all that, if you're thinking about visiting or you already have a trip planned in the next couple months, then it's totally your call on what you want to do. Especially if you're staying on the south side of Maui, Kihei area. That's all open, all welcoming for visitors.

[00:02:33] But it's, it's definitely your call because it's a very delicate situation on Maui right now. There's a lot of grief, there's a lot of tension, there's the new tension of this new crisis of the local economy on Maui on top of the crisis in Lahaina. And so if you are planning, already planning on visiting Maui, definitely would encourage you to [00:03:00] consider keeping that reservation, but know that you're visiting a very different Maui.

[00:03:05] And when you do visit, have an extra dose of grace, an extra dose of aloha, and just come with the intent to want to serve. That could be visiting local restaurants, volunteering, or even taking out a dog from the Maui Humane Society for the day and giving some relief to the workers there, because there are a lot of displaced animals at this time.

[00:03:32] So that's something that's kind of a cool program if you're looking at something to tangibly do while you're on island Taking a dog out for the day could be a really cool Experience for you and your family having said all that there are some spots to definitely Visit when you're there and today we're going to be talking about one of those spots.

[00:03:53] It's a legendary spot when you think about shave ice You think of Matsumoto, it's [00:04:00] definitely on the North shore in Haleiwa town of Oahu. However, in the same breath, you probably have heard of Uelani's shave ice and Uelani's is huge on not just the island of Maui, but they have locations across continental U.

[00:04:18] S. as well. And we're going to be hearing a little bit about that in today's conversation with one of its co founders. Uelani's had two locations in Lahaina. We're going to hear the story. About those locations in both of those locations were lost to the fire We're going to hear a little bit about the story and how it came to be And more importantly what the leadership team from ulanis has in place as far as a gofundme page For their employees and what they're doing We're going to hear about what the part that they're playing in helping to care for in the recovery efforts in Lahaina and how they're a part of the rebuild efforts as well.[00:05:00]

[00:05:01] So our guest today is David Yamashiro, who is the co founder of the iconic Uelani's Hawaiian Shave Ice. He and his wife, Uelani, had a dream. to open up their own shave ice business. And in 2018, amidst the challenges of a recession, David Uhlani and their partner, Brad Egerton, embarked on an ambitious journey and opened their first brick and mortar shop in Lahaina, which quickly evolved into a phenomenon, earning them five star ratings on both TripAdvisor and Yelp.

[00:05:35] Their commitment, what's their secret, is quality ingredients, genuine warmth. And a generous sprinkle of aloha and what David refers to as alohatude. We'll define that later on in the episode. So, quick history about shave ice in Hawaii. Shave ice was brought to Hawaii by thousands of Japanese who migrated here to work in the sugar cane plantations and pineapple fields.

[00:05:59] [00:06:00] The workers would take a block of ice and shave it as if planing a block of wood or using a machete. Then, they would pour different flavored juices or syrups on them. They enjoyed it as a refreshing break in the hot tropical climate, and in those days, shave ice was sold only on Sundays, the only day off the plantation workers received.

[00:06:21] When the Japanese immigrants moved off the plantations, they opened family run grocery stores with shave ice, like Matsumoto's, and shave ice went commercial and became very popular. The popularity has grown and continues to grow today. So let's go ahead and let's talk story with David from Uelani's Hawaiian Shave Ice.

[00:06:49] I love to hear the history of Uelani's and how it all started and all that, but I think Before we get into that, it'd be important for people [00:07:00] to know how they can best support you and your team. What are some things that you have in place currently that people can help support? 

[00:07:10] David Yamashiro - Ululani's Shave Hawaiian Ice: We do have a GoFundMe page and the page...

[00:07:13] Seventy five percent of the proceeds or the donations that come in will be going straight to our employees, to our staff that were living in Lahaina and impacted by the fire. Okay. The other twenty five percent going to families that we know that lost their homes and lost everything that they own. You know, we're on an ongoing journey to help them because it's not a sprint.

[00:07:40] Right. It's something that they're going to need. For a longer period of time with them losing their homes, of course, you're going to have to get someplace to stay once FEMA and the Red Cross are gone. And so we aim to assist in that area as long as we can [00:08:00] through the funds that we raise with this.

[00:08:02] Bryan Murphy: Gotcha. And from what you've already received, what are some things that you guys have been able to 

[00:08:08] David Yamashiro - Ululani's Shave Hawaiian Ice: do so far? So far, we've given out, you know, just gift cards to our team that has been impacted by this and, and even the ones that did not lose everything for the strain, the, the unknown, for being stuck out there for, you know, seven, eight days without communication, without power.

[00:08:32] Everyone went through things, and now they don't have a job out in Lahaina. Their place of employment is not there anymore. So, there's an ongoing need for assistance in a number of different ways to try and get them back to normal. And that's what we're here to do. We're fighting, I myself am fighting every day to get the word out, to let people know that That this is what's going on and you're [00:09:00] enabling us to do that.

[00:09:01] Thank you. 

[00:09:02] Bryan Murphy: Absolutely. Diving in a little bit deeper. How has your employees been directly affected because of the fires? 

[00:09:12] David Yamashiro - Ululani's Shave Hawaiian Ice: Everyone is impacted. Everyone has close family members. The Lahaina community is tight. Right. So they all have family members that maybe their home was spared. We even have one, one of our employees.

[00:09:27] His home, amongst all the other homes in his neighborhood and in his area, his home was the only one that survived. Oh, wow. But how livable is it? You know, there are things in there and and at the same time right now he has survivor's guilt. Like, why did my home survive when everyone else's did not? And you know, he's, he's feeling bad.

[00:09:50] You know because of that and he shouldn't and but at the same time, you know, how do you take in that you're So blessed amongst everyone [00:10:00] else and so anyway, there's that piece, right? Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:10:04] Bryan Murphy: How do you accept that? 

[00:10:06] David Yamashiro - Ululani's Shave Hawaiian Ice: Yeah Yeah, how do you accept that and there's others that that were living in, you know Multi generational homes and and their home may have survived but you know right next door They had cousins or that didn't there that their homes didn't make it.

[00:10:20] And so we have One employee that lost two family members and again, the pain, the pain of being shut off from the outside world for not knowing what was going on, not having any electricity to bathe, not having any housing, not having food, just the basic necessities. And the outpouring of love that everyone received from all over the world, you know, was tremendous.

[00:10:45] Everyone was putting packages together, sending, but how much of that can actually be stored when they don't have a house? How much more can the island take of donations that are not relevant to their situation? 

[00:10:59] Bryan Murphy: For those listening [00:11:00] right now, you can go to hawaiisbest. com slash ulanis and we will Go right, right to the page as well.

[00:11:07] So we'll, we'll link that below in the, in the blog post in the episode description as well. Thank you. I'd love to talk a little bit about the history of Ulani's and how it all started, but maybe specifically those locations and its history there in Lahaina. 

[00:11:23] David Yamashiro - Ululani's Shave Hawaiian Ice: My wife is Ulani and we both moved to Maui. We opened that shop in December of 2008.

[00:11:30] So it was the tail end of the year. And that shop was a 65 square foot, which is small, you know, which is the size of a bathroom. And we opened our shop there in a little courtyard called the Poi Factory. That shop, you know, was surrounded by other businesses. We were off of the street, so there was no visibility at all.

[00:11:52] And it was a struggle, you know. There were some days that... I would make 15 to 20 shave ice, and that's with me in the straining to get people [00:12:00] in. I'm standing on the sidewalk, come and try our shave ice. But over the course of a two to three month period, we became very, very popular. We had to double the size of our shop.

[00:12:10] So three months later, we doubled the size. So Lahaina is the birthplace of Ululanis. And it took the community, the neighboring businesses, all of the people that lived in the area, It took them to buy in and come, and what happened is the word started getting out and people from Kihei side or upcountry and Haiku and you know, Wailuku and Kahului, that would never come to Lahaina, you know, and old, we're talking about older people, their parents and grandparents, never ever, you know, Could have been years before they went to Lela the last time, but they would come and they would visit us.

[00:12:56] And so the, the buy-in from the [00:13:00] community and, you know, with our business was one that we are extremely grateful for. They are what, you know, prompted us or enabled us to grow. And all of our team members, everyone that worked for us, lived in Lahaina, grew up in Lahaina. So the impact of that was totally felt by everyone.

[00:13:22] But we went from that 65 square foot shop to that 130 square foot shop, and a year later, we opened another shop in Kahului. But the year after that, we opened our, the latest shop that we had there, and that was our main shop. That was only really about, I'm going to say, 300 feet away from our original shop.

[00:13:44] And both shops were extremely busy. So people would go stand, you know, they'd check both shops to see which line is longer and then they would go everyone was shorter and in spite of us being that close to each other, [00:14:00] both shops did extremely, extremely well. But we did ultimately close the original shop, but the shop that we lost there at, you know, 790 Front Street, which is right next to Kitty Corner to Cheeseburger in Paradise.

[00:14:19] Where Maui built used to be, that became our most, you know, popular shop. And on the other side, by the banyan tree, we opened the shop November of 2021. We're just starting to gain traction there. We were starting to open up more days, but then the fire happened. So, the impact to that one shop in Lahaina.

[00:14:43] Not only for us on the financial side, but on the historical side. What it brought to us in terms of the amount of memories that we created. I would say that shop, we served over a million people out of that shop. You know, over the course of time. That shop, during the summer, [00:15:00] when we're busy, we would do over, over a thousand shavices a day.

[00:15:04] So, in the hearts of many, and we're talking about people from all over the world, we're not just talking about local residents. We are extremely loved and beloved by, by, by many, and The amount of support and emails, texts, letters have been tremendous. 

[00:15:23] Bryan Murphy: Just curious on like more of a product side, being so popular and so well loved, what would you say sets you guys apart in the Shave Ice area?

[00:15:33] David Yamashiro - Ululani's Shave Hawaiian Ice: What sets us apart, our shave ice is extremely fine, like Viola shave ice on Oahu. But, we make our own ice and we use ultra purified water. And when I say ultra purified, it's water that went through the reverse osmosis process. Then we put an ultraviolet blast to that to make sure that 99. 999% of all [00:16:00] bacteria and...

[00:16:01] Things that shouldn't be in the water is removed and then we make our own so our process is different You know regarding I don't want to disclose any secrets on that side, but our syrup. 

[00:16:11] Bryan Murphy: Yeah. 

[00:16:12] David Yamashiro - Ululani's Shave Hawaiian Ice: Yeah, no worries Our syrups are also different in the sense that you know, again, we make our own syrups we make it with pure king sugar and this is at a time where Everyone was using high fructose corn syrup.

[00:16:24] We were using, uh, fruit purees. We were using just premium ingredients and everything was designed to our tastes. So every flavor that we have was designed for our tastes. Either we made it ourselves, and at the time we were making our own azuki beans, or at times we were using, making tapioca pearls in coconut milk.

[00:16:45] But right now, we make our toasted coconut, we make our mochi, and all of those pieces are. Either premium or gourmet. We also use Maui's own Roselani ice cream. And their ice cream [00:17:00] is a generational ice cream company. And the flavors and what they have is what fits us. That's what we were using. But they have three different tiers.

[00:17:10] They have an economy tier. They have a premium tier. And they have a gourmet tier. That a lot of the fine dining restaurants or high end hotels would use. And that's the grade that we would use would be the gourmet grade. So, you know, and we're also like the grandfather of a lot of different techniques that are coming out.

[00:17:28] Our pouring style, we're the first to pour in thirds versus the traditional ribbon style. And with the ribbon style, what happens is, say you order three flavors, but your favorite amongst the three is strawberry, and then you want vanilla, and then you want banana. If they pour the banana first, And they normally would pour that in the middle.

[00:17:50] That spreads out to the widest percentage. Then the two sides will get what you wanted the most, which would be a smaller portion. [00:18:00] But when you combine those colors, you wind up with five different colors. Because we started pouring the way that we do, you get six different colors. You also get a true taste and flavor component in terms of thirds.

[00:18:15] Where what you're eating is what you actually ordered and want. We poke holes in our shave ice to allow syrups to penetrate. And now people are poking holes in their shave ice around the world. But I really believe that what sets us apart from all of that is the heart and the feeling, the Aloha that is sent, that we're able to convey to everyone that comes to our shop.

[00:18:39] We try to make sure that every person that comes to our window Is treated individually, treated with respect, love something nice is being shared with them. And that has created a pretty devout following for us, the true feelings of what we call aloha too, which is aloha with [00:19:00] gratitude because we are truly grateful for everybody.

[00:19:03] And that gratitude is conveyed so that they, the people that come in know that they're appreciated. Aloha 

[00:19:09] Bryan Murphy: too. I, I love that. And I wonder if, We could expand on that a little bit because I know being on Front Street, you probably have seen so many people over the years and have been able to have so much of a small, but yet sometimes a large impact.

[00:19:27] I wonder if you have a story or something you can share with us as you reflect on those memories. Are there any stories that come to mind or anything that you 

[00:19:36] David Yamashiro - Ululani's Shave Hawaiian Ice: would love to share? I mean, there's stories that make me cry even until today, you know, whether or not it's. A little boy coming with his mom and they were coming to eat shave ice at one of our shops and I was, I was working at the time.

[00:19:50] But the mom kept telling, asking the boy, go ahead and order. And the boy kept saying, no, no, no. I leaned over and I said, Hey, little guy, how are you doing? [00:20:00] Come on, you can do it. Now tell me what you want to order and I'll make it for you. And he's shaking and said, no. And then I said, okay, let's just take it really slowly.

[00:20:09] What is your favorite flavor? And he's hugging his mom and still saying no. And then it said, come out. They said, let's go one at a time. And he says. Ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch. For a long time. I'm talking like almost a minute. of trying to get the cherry, you know. Yeah. And I said, well, great job, you know.

[00:20:28] So he looks and I said, come on, you can pick three flavors. What would you want your next flavor to be? And he says, no. She said, no. I said, come on, you can do it. And after a long period of time, ba na na na na. And I said, whoa, that's so awesome. You did a great job. Now one more flavor. What do you want to do?

[00:20:47] What do you want to get? And he said, vanilla. I said, whoa, those three colors make a rainbow. Whoa. Great job, you know, he's looking at his mom. So I'm making the shibas and I'm looking at [00:21:00] him, looking at his mom, and his mom is crying and I'm really confused. So anyway, I finish it, the shibas, and I hand it to the boy and the boy's really happy and the mom asked the boy to go, you know, to go on the side.

[00:21:15] And she says, she comes closer and she says, thank you again. I said, for what? You know, I didn't, what did I do? And she says, that you have no idea. I said, no idea about what? She says, that he has never ever completed something, spoken to anyone, and the impact, and that accomplishment. And the positive reinforcement that he received that that will stay with them for the rest of their lives and for sure over the next week.

[00:21:48] I think it was a week that they were there every day. She would tell him if you don't behave, you're not going to be able to see David or get new shave ice. And so, but again, that's the one amongst [00:22:00] so many, many, many, you know, impactful moments that people have at our shops. And to get a warm greeting and to just have someone display kindness to you.

[00:22:15] That you don't expect, you know, I mean, you're going to a shave ice business. The lives that we've impacted, it's off the charts. Seriously. 

[00:22:24] Bryan Murphy: I'm sure. I can't imagine all the conversations and all the memories and, and you're open up new locations across the continental US and I, I, I'm sure that people are coming out of, you know, Texas and, hey, I remember when I visited you on Front Street and you probably hear so many of those stories.

[00:22:42] Could you take us back to the day of, of the fire? And how, from your perspective and your team's perspective, what was that day like, but specifically for, for your team, what did they 

[00:22:57] David Yamashiro - Ululani's Shave Hawaiian Ice: experience? When we lost [00:23:00] those two shops, especially our main Lahaina location, that's a tremendous loss for us. Yeah. But at the same time, you know, we still have four other shops on the other side of Maui.

[00:23:13] And Ulu and I, and myself, we both, we live in Kula. And so, on the day of the fire, there was a, there were fires going on in Kula as well. So, and I have my 90 year old dad living with us and my stepmom. So, we definitely had to, we had to evacuate. And, you know, it takes away from the fact that the magnitude of what happened in Lahaina is crazy, right?

[00:23:39] I mean, because we have all had... Wildfires before the last big one that I was in Lahaina, or was the one in 2018 and pretty much it was almost the same. See, in fact, I believe it was in August as well, where, where homes were lost and where concerns were brought up and [00:24:00] concerns by viable people. People that you know in my circle.

[00:24:05] They're, what they do and what they say is very important to the community and, but I think they raised concerns at that time that weren't, maybe were heard, but nothing was done about it, but, you know, with all of those fires and the way that it was dealt with, it's not the same, you know, because when you hear that there's a, Wildfire going on.

[00:24:34] Everyone has dealt with all those fires. Oh, no, I better either go back to the other side and But you're not going to expect what happened to happen, right? For us the reason why a lot of our Employees were not impacted further was because of the power outage that occurred early on that morning But we were still planning on opening for business, because normally after two to three hours, it's back [00:25:00] up and going.

[00:25:01] And there was the fire that started up by the Hainaluna Intermediate or Middle School. But they did say that it was contained. So with us hearing that it was contained, we were still planning on opening our shop that day. But power was still out. So we had our employees there. And come 1030, when normally they would open the gates, They called me and said that the gates are not open.

[00:25:25] Anyway, what I found out that happened was two of the roofs in our little plaza area were blown off because of the high winds. So they did not want to open the gate. In the past, they had had some visitors have a branch fall on their head before. So anyway, they were not going to open the shop, the barricades.

[00:25:48] So I told all of our employees to go home, that we're not going to open that day either. But because electricity was out, because of the high winds, again, at the [00:26:00] school, they sent everybody, all the kids home and, you know, we go through this all the time where everyone goes home and you're told to stay indoors because, you know, whatever the event is, whether or not it's The high winds, you know, there was no fire concern at that point, but it was just really more that we're out of power, out of electricity.

[00:26:21] But we've never seen, I mean, I don't think anyone has seen a fire that spread through as fast as it did. With the winds whipping through the way that it did but even if you had a warning It's not like a hurricane where you get a warning, you know, a hurricane is coming, you know days in advance that it's coming This was one that everyone thought the fire was contained so nobody was on guard for what occurred in speaking to one of my close friends and They told me that in, in their area, a bunch of kids in that were on their, I don't know whether or not it was dirt bikes or regular [00:27:00] bikes, but they were the ones that went through the neighborhoods and spread the words to evacuate, you have to leave the fire, and but they set the alarm out through their immediate area, but that did not come out.

[00:27:12] In Lahaina, so the amount of children that were at home, you know, everything has been understated in terms of deaths and what, what expectations are. It'll approach, you know, even now I believe it's still in the hundreds when everyone knows it's so much more. It's five times that amount, you know, if not even 10 times the amount that is currently being reported.

[00:27:45] As what the final death toll will be. So, what we have gone through, what Lua, myself, what our company has gone through, while it's devastating for our employees, I cannot [00:28:00] even fathom the degree of what everyone else is going through. Those that did lose or cannot find or do not know what happened to their family members.

[00:28:13] What, what happens if a whole family is gone and nobody's looking for them, nobody's reporting them, what happens then, you know, so there's a lot of situations that are like that, so that toll will rise, the impact will rise, but again, what we have gone through, what our employees, since all of them survived, yeah, they lost their homes, but they were not in Lahaina town when that happened.

[00:28:40] There are a few people that happened. I give the utmost respect to one of them is a friend of mine, Kikwa, but he took his family to safety and then he went back in numerous times to the fire zone and, and to help, [00:29:00] you know, when that was going on, was going on, and his name is Kikwa Lansford. In my eyes, he's a hero, but for us, we definitely want to make sure that the impact of what we do is full on.

[00:29:16] The impact of somebody donating to us that what we donate, what we give to our team members and to those, because we're also supporting some of the families that were impacted as well. We gave one of our employees a Starlink system because their family has been without, you know, anyone, you know, everyone didn't have Wi Fi, but they still didn't have Wi Fi.

[00:29:40] And this was like last, when I finally got, was able to get one of the small batch that came in at Home Depot. I managed to get three of those. But we're hearing, we're seeing the needs and we're asking. What can we do to help you most right and that that's how we're going to [00:30:00] fulfill what we do to them But again, you know as we move forward that needs We'll continue to be there.

[00:30:08] Bryan Murphy: Yeah, I'm sure that that makes sense and then thinking about tourism and the impact thinking about that first week of Hey, don't visit Maui. Don't come to Maui Postpone your trip or go to another island that first week that communication from officials it was very loud and clear and Now there's this Recommunication of, hey, it's okay to visit Maui, Lahaina is off limits.

[00:30:42] And I, I get all that. I'm just curious on the impact that that communication piece had on you and, and those around you. And I'm sure there's many people who rely on working at Ulani's and other jobs. [00:31:00] Many people work more than one or two jobs. 

[00:31:03] David Yamashiro - Ululani's Shave Hawaiian Ice: Yeah. Already people were working three jobs. That's another piece.

[00:31:07] That's. Not spoken about it's the impact of what occurred when they stopped said that All the tourists on Maui needed to leave when, you know, we need to save those resources for the local people. And it's true, I could understand the thinking during that time. Everyone helps everyone. Everyone was pulling together to help the people that were stranded.

[00:31:34] And when I say stranded, they were, they felt like they were abandoned. They felt that they had no... No outs. I mean, literally, no power, no communication, no Wi Fi, no gas, at that time, no food, no water, no place to use the bathroom, no place to take a shower, all of those pieces for, it took a lot, a lot of days before something, [00:32:00] before things got right.

[00:32:02] Ulani's makes a commitment to continue this ongoing fight to help make a difference in their lives. 

[00:32:11] Bryan Murphy: I love that. And you mentioned about the new locations, touch on that a little bit, but also curious about the fund. Where is it? Where is the fund currently? What are the needs more specifically? Maybe you can expand on that a bit as far as What the actual needs are now that I'm sure you've never had to do this before and trying to figure out the needs of those where this GoFundMe is going towards.

[00:32:42] Maybe just bring us up to speed on that a little bit. 

[00:32:44] David Yamashiro - Ululani's Shave Hawaiian Ice: You know, we met our, our initial 150, 000 goal, you know, a few, maybe a week ago, but I looked at what we're going to be dispersing to everyone. It's not enough, you know, and that's such a short period of time. [00:33:00] What's been very. Helpful in some ways is because we're opening these other, you know, franchises that we opened this one in Austin that enabled me to talk to more people.

[00:33:11] And there's so many people out there, all the people that were customers of ours that came. They're all concerned, you know, and, but at the same time, they don't know anyone maybe that they could help immediately or in the manner in which they could safely knowing that it's not, they're not being scammed or anything like that, but when they see, you know, when they talk to me and I'm able to share, you know, what we're doing and what our intent is, it spurs, you know, more, more activity, a stronger desire for them to help knowing that it's going to go to the people that, That need it and that it's coming to us and we're the ones that are taking care of that.

[00:33:51] Bryan Murphy: I'm curious from your point of view. What would you say to someone who has a trip plan to Maui, [00:34:00] maybe the next month, couple months. What would you advise that person and what would you like to say to that person? 

[00:34:10] David Yamashiro - Ululani's Shave Hawaiian Ice: Please go to Maui. We need you to go to Maui. There is one area in Lahaina. Lahaina is impacted.

[00:34:21] And we don't need anyone going over there to take selfies and photos of you being in the area that was impacted. But every other business needs you to go. Again, at our Townsend shops, when all of this happened, we were fine. Well, I'm saying at the time that they shut off tourism, but it has definitely been clarified that Maui is not shut off because Lahaina is the only section that is uninhabitable or that we don't want visitors to go [00:35:00] to.

[00:35:00] But we have Haiku, we have Pa'ia, we have Wailuku, we have Kahului, we have Kihei, you know. There's just a number of different areas of Maui, the, the beautiful parts of Maui that are there. We did lose our historic and beloved Lahaina, but the rest of the towns, the rest of the people there, they need you. So now what, what's happened is us who were able to help, you know, a lot and then more.

[00:35:35] And, and keep our employees employed and try to make room for our La Hana employees to have jobs. When our business started declining, and I know that our shops still are doing more business in some of the other shops, but when we see that decline in numbers, everyone is hurting. Now. It's not just the west side people.[00:36:00]

[00:36:00] Now. It's almost like Covid wants more. You know, the entire island right now is impacted by the lack of visitors and it applies to a wide range of businesses, of industries. This impacts plumbers, it impacts construction, it impacts electricians, it impacts every tour company, it impacts hotels, it impacts restaurant workers in the biggest way.

[00:36:29] And I have to say that I have to applaud and then recognize. Those of our stellar, stellar, and beloved restauranteurs on Maui that continue to give and give and provide their time. They're the food, you know, they're, yeah, I know that they're getting donations of food, but what they're providing is incredible.

[00:36:54] The amount of give. in our community is totally unbelievable. [00:37:00] My employees were in the shelters, and they were, they were volunteering to help everybody else. That aspect of the people that are hurting, yeah, they're hurting, but at the same time they're still wanting to help, they're still loving, and there's many businesses, there's many business owners that are doing everything that they can to help and provide and to

[00:37:29] Bryan Murphy: David, this is super informative and I think helpful, maybe even healing for some people listening. What does, from your perspective, being a community leader and with other influencers around you, what does moving forward look like? Have you guys been able to even ask that question yet? 

[00:37:54] David Yamashiro - Ululani's Shave Hawaiian Ice: Yes, yes, we have.

[00:37:56] What does moving forward mean? I know quite a [00:38:00] few of the property owners in Lahaina. I know a lot of the business owners in Lahaina. We're currently, a good friend of mine is, and the Lahaina, Lahaina Town Action Committee, they're putting together a hui of business owners, as well as a hui of property owners, and to get to rebuild, it's going to be crazy, because Lahaina Town was Lahaina Town, but now, With new codes, with new things coming in, the time element is going to be major.

[00:38:37] Also, the setback or the, is French Street going to be French Street or is French Street going to be a block away? You know, the flood zones may change what is going to happen to all the homes, all the buildings that were on Front Street, that is going to lose value over the next few, you know, few years as especially as.

[00:38:58] Nothing is being done if [00:39:00] things are not being pushed forward to allow them to start, you know, the cleanup. I mean, there's decisions that need to be made, you know, and I'm talking from a business owner, a local standpoint. You know what's going to happen when that whole front street area is changed to the property behind them where the street behind them Oh, that's 

[00:39:22] Bryan Murphy: an interesting Thought yeah, I mean, I didn't even think about that.

[00:39:26] I mean, obviously there's a lot of Questions and a lot of things and topics will come up and, uh, David, how can people learn more about Ululani's? 

[00:39:36] David Yamashiro - Ululani's Shave Hawaiian Ice: They can go to our website. I mean, our website is still not, it has a lot of information on there, but it has nothing pertaining to this on there at all. But, you know, we have an email address on there, info at Ululani's Shave Ice dot com.

[00:39:53] I'm one of the ones that receive all of those emails that come through and just, I'm so grateful [00:40:00] for this opportunity to speak, you know, on behalf of our company, our employees, our community. As well as for sharing the depths of our feelings for those that were severely impacted by the tragedy that happened.

[00:40:17] And know that we are doing everything that we can to put those impacted in a better place. 

[00:40:26] Bryan Murphy: Great. David, thank you for your time and for your leadership and in all of this, we appreciate that. 

[00:40:33] David Yamashiro - Ululani's Shave Hawaiian Ice: Thank you very much. And, um, have a great day. Aloha. Aloha. 

[00:40:38] Bryan Murphy: I really just want to thank David again for his time and for his heart for wanting to serve the community.

[00:40:45] and the people of Lahaina. To go to the GoFundMe page, you can go to our show notes page for this episode. There you'll find the resources mentioned in this episode and also the link to Uelani's GoFundMe, so be [00:41:00] sure to check that out. Again, thank you so much for listening to this episode, and until next time, be well.

[00:41:06] Aloha. 

[00:41:09] David Yamashiro - Ululani's Shave Hawaiian Ice: Mahalo for listening to this episode of Hawaii's Best. To stay up to date on future episodes, please subscribe and visit us at hawaiisbesttravel. com