Hanalei shave ice soft opened in st. petersburg earlier this month | hanalei shave ice

A new St. Pete business specializes in sweet treats that are perfect for beating the sweltering summertime heat.

A small, tropical-themed trailer called Hanalei Shave Ice is parked at 2912 24th Street North near the St. Pete Heights neighborhood. On the weekends, it dishes out authentic and all-natural Hawaiian shave ice, a popular dessert that combines soft, thinly-shaved ice with locally-sourced fruit, sauces, and other toppings.

Owner Brandy Lynn Ford launched her business in Orlando’s Mills 50 district in 2019, and relocated the mobile shave ice business to St. Pete a few months ago.

“I just felt like a coastal city like St. Pete would be great for my small business, it’s a place that feels so homegrown to me,” Ford says in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. “I wanted to bring something culturally authentic to this area, and also wanted to be a bit closer to the water.”

A military veteran who worked as a professional chef for over two decades, Ford has channeled her vast culinary experience into one product that has ties to her upbringing and culture.

hanalei offers a rotating menu of hawaiian shave ices, topped wtih fresh fruit, sauces, milk creams, and more | hanalei shave ice

“You’ll never see me in that camper without a smile on, because it is a joy to be able to do something that connects myself to my culture, my ancestors, and my kupuna. It makes me super proud to share this treat with people,” Ford says, whose father is a native Hawaiian.

There’s over a dozen shave ice flavors on the Hanalei menu, from fruity options like mango, lilikoi or passionfruit, lychee, coconut, and guava to unique offerings like Thai tea, milk and honey, cookies and cream, and key lime pie.

Customers can also add a housemade vanilla milk cream to achieve a thicker, ice cream-like texture.

Since St. Pete has a reputation for being a wellness and health-oriented city, she expects residents to enjoy her desserts, since she never uses added sugars or artificial sweeteners.

Ford says her best-selling flavors are ube and mango li hing, which is topped with a pickled, salted plum powder popular in Hawaii.

She’s also developing a new flavor that’s an ideal post-workout treat, a protein-filled shave ice that tastes like a creamy and tart Brazilian lemonade.

An ube (filipino purple yam) and fruity pebbles shave ice, a recent special on the hanalei menu | hanalei shave ice

Hanalei’s menu is constantly changing, depending on what fruits are abundant and in-season. Weekly specials and a secret menu filled with unique shave ice creations are also available on a first-come-first serve basis.

In order to achieve the silky texture of authentic shave ice, Ford imports water directly from Hawaii, adjusting the minerality and PH before freezing it into large blocks.

The business is an homage to her late father, an indigenous Hawaiian who grew up on the island of Kauai. As a young man working in the taro and sugar cane fields, he sold shaved ice on the weekends for extra income.

For the first three years of her business, she hand-cranked each shave ice, just as her father did.

“One of the things that's really important to Hawaiian culture is that we give back to our āina or the land, and I always try to give back to my island,” Ford explains. “I think it enhances the business in a way, the fact that it’s named after our town of Hanalei. It’s where my family and my ancestors are actually from.”

With one location cemented near the St. Pete Heights neighborhood, Ford will eventually bring a second trailer to pop-up at local businesses and markets throughout Pinellas County.

Ford will open a second shave ice trailer to pop up at events and markets throughout st. pete and beyond | hanalei shave ice

She plans to regularly collaborate with Aloha to Go, one of the only authentic Hawaiian restaurants in Tampa Bay.

While Ford will operate two locations in St. Pete, she doesn’t plan to expand her business much further.

“I really like being a hidden gem because this treat is handcrafted and not something that can be rushed. I always want to be one-on-one with my customers,” Ford explains. “We really want that authentic flavor, and to do that, you can't replicate it on a mass scale.”

“I love that tiny businesses can be successful in St. Pete, we can bring true value to our communities and neighborhoods,” she continues.

Currently, Hanalei Shave Ice is open from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays, with plans to expand service to Thursdays and Fridays in the coming months.

Follow Hanalei Shave Ice on Instagram and Facebook for updates about its weekend specials, operating hours, and more.