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Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, people might shorthand “Kai’s Ohana Shave Ice and Creamery” to just “Ohana,” the Hawaiian word for “family.” It’s appropriate in several ways, as “Kai” is the son of owners Karina and Peter Hernandez, who may have been conceived on the same trip to Hawaii that inspired the couple to create their own shave ice business.
“We went to Kauai in 2013,” Karina said, “to celebrate our five-year anniversary and our eldest graduating from high school. When we came back, we found out that I was pregnant. We had been trying for five years, so he was just like a little miracle for us.”
It was on that trip, while visiting a little wishing well, that the couple first tried Hawaiian shave ice served from a little beat-up trailer and became instantly hooked.
“There was a really nice lady,” Peter said, “She had amazing shave ice, and she even put fruit on it. And when I sat down to eat it, I remember that it was such an incredible experience.”
The secret, Peter said, is in the way the ice is prepared. He stresses that the pillowy shave ice, which he says melts in your mouth, is the distinct opposite of the coarser crushed ice of a snow cone.
“With a snow cone,” he said, “the syrup goes right through the ice and down to the bottom of the cup. With shave ice, it’s so finely shaved that the texture of the ice absorbs the syrup, and it stays on top.”
Another Hawaiian concept they brought over from the islands was incorporating a scoop of ice cream buried in the mound of ice or adding a drizzle of sweet condensed milk as an option.
Inspired by the experience, the Hernandezes decided to bring Hawaii to Hollister, first in the form of a stand at the farmers’ market. They were motivated, in part, by their difficulty in finding a local shave ice truck that would frequently come to town.
“While I was pregnant,” Karina said, “I was totally craving the Hawaiian-style shave ice. But I wanted the authentic stuff. I had to find the Kona truck to get my fix. But it wasn’t the authentic experience that I was hoping for and craving.”
They opened their stand in April 2015. It was operated by Peter, who had the more flexible schedule of the two. They had a tabletop setup, with “just one machine, a few flavors and a lot of prayers.”
The popularity at the farmers market served as a proof of concept, leading Peter to suggest they expand into catering for birthday parties. Karina initially thought the idea was “crazy”—until the business began tripling in sales every year.
They soon needed a commercial kitchen to expand their catering business, and a storefront would also allow them to sell to the general public, helping counteract the product’s seasonality. They opened at their current location in 2017, turning the shop into a tribute to Hawaii’s colorful side including at one point “Aloha Fridays” with Hawaiian music and barbecue.
The move also allowed them to stock a line of Marianne’s Ice Cream, including chocolate-dipped ice cream or cheesecake bars, ice cream sandwiches and Dole Whip.
In true Hawaiian style, they also offered sweet condensed milk as a topping, called a “Sno Cap,” coconut and a very popular specialty combo item: a scoop of any of their ice creams encased in shave ice.
“When you add the condensed milk,” Karina said, “it offers a creamy experience, and then you add a scoop of ice cream in the center of that, along with up to three syrups, it just becomes mind-blowing.”
One of the showpieces is based on the shop’s namesake: the Kai’s Favorite. It comes with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a rainbow of banana, cherry, and Blue Hawaii syrups, then finished with a vanilla sno cap. Karina calls it “ono-licious.”
All of the syrups are produced in-house from concentrates sourced from—you guessed it—Hawaii. They are made fresh with just water and pure cane sugar, without any sign of high fructose. Even the ice is made in-house from purified water.
“Our big goal,” Peter said, “is for the pungency, the flavor to actually stand out. When we serve our root beer, you can smell the root beer. That’s always the experience we want.”
Fruit-forward acai and pitaya bowls soon followed, with the Peanut Butter Lover as the standout. Its base of bananas and roasted peanut butter is finished with fresh bananas, strawberries, hemp granola, shredded coconut, acai or pitaya, cacao nibs, and a final drizzle of natural peanut butter.
Looking for a “niche” that complemented their desserts and another way to handle the seasonality of shave ice, they integrated their authentic Hawaiian coffee, made with a Bali Kona mix, into the menu about six years ago, offering it in their trailer as well. They have since added a mobile coffee trike for catering events.
“With our coffee,” Peter said, “as with any of our products, we focus on quality over quantity. Tourist Hat coffee roasts for us in small batches to ensure that our beans are really good. And we add our own twists and flavors.”
The shop offers all the classic staples—straight coffee, macchiatos, lattes, Americanos, and mochas—alongside a lineup of Ohana‑inspired specialties, including a lavender‑infused cold‑foam latte, an iced coconut mocha, and an ube affogato made with taro‑root ice cream.
Ohana’s blends also appear in offerings like the delightful Kona Crunch milkshake, which hits all the bases. It begins with a Kona Crunch ice cream specialty created for the shop by Marianne’s, blended with the house Kona coffee, and topped with whipped cream and a chocolate drizzle.
What’s next for Ohana? Peter has become so enamored with coffee that he is taking a “coffee beans boot camp” with roasting classes and will soon be able to create his own blends on-site. At the same time, he wants to rebrand the business, focusing on the three strong pillars of the business: shave ice, ice cream, and coffee.
And, perhaps, even expand his Aloha Friday concept into a larger event.
“The ultimate goal is to have the first official Ohana Hawaiian luau,” Peter said. “Bring the music, the food, the shave ice, the whole Hawaiian experience out on a sunny day for the community to enjoy.”
Kai’s Ohana Shave Ice and Creamery
738 San Benito St, Hollister
(831) 250-9049
Hours:
Tuesday-Sunday: 12–9 p.m.
Closed Monday
Online at Facebook, Instagram, FoodOrders and NextDoor.com
Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.
BenitoLink thanks our underwriters, Hollister Super and Windmill Market, for helping expand the Eat, Drink, Savor series and for giving our readers the stories that interest them. Hollister Super (two stores in Hollister) and Windmill Market (in San Juan Bautista) support reporting on the inspired and creative people behind the many delicious food and drink products made in San Benito County. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.
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