Matsumoto’s Shave Ice // 66-087 Kamehameha Hwy #605, Haleiwa, HI 96712 // (808) 637-4827
So you’re in Haleiwa and just got your coffee fix from Coffee Gallery. Maybe you’ll hit up Waimea, make the drive to Giovanni’s, or climb Kealia Trail. Wherever you’re going next, be sure to check out Matsumoto’s Shave Ice. You can’t get coffee or beer here, but you can get one of Hawaii’s most sublime specialties: shave ice. No, not shaved ice. Shave ice. You stay local already, brah.
We sat down with the owner of the famous shave ice store up north to learn more about Haleiwa’s most popular place, and there’s some pretty neat people behind it.
A Match Made in Haleiwa
Meet Noriko. She was visiting Hawai’i from Japan a few decades ago and wanted to practice speaking English. Stanley Matsumoto, on the other hand, took it the wrong way. While checking out the North Shore, Noriko and her friends stopped by Matsumoto’s Shave Ice (back then a grocery store), and asked one of the employees to take a photo of her and her friends. It turns out she asked the owner’s son, Stanley.
Stanley obliged and took the photo, then talked with Noriko and her friends for a while. He then took them to see the Society of Seven in Waikiki. He and Noriko hung out a bit, built a relationship, and after Noriko realized Stanley liked her, she told him she was not interested in him in that way. Nonetheless, they exchanged letters when she returned to Japan, and two years later, she moved to Hawai’i to marry him. Today she recounts that fateful trip and attests that “it turned out okay.”
You might not suspect her to be the “anchor of Matsumoto’s [Shave Ice],” according to her husband and owner of Matsumoto’s Shave Ice, but with her humble and quiet attitude, she continues to ensure Matsumoto’s Shave Ice remains successful.
The Brains behind Matsumoto Shave Ice
Behind the counter
If Stanley is the face of his store, then Noriko is the brains behind it. She tells how Stanley is in the office by 5:00 AM, finishes his work around 9:00 AM, then wanders around the store talking to customers. She remains in the back room hidden from the public view punching numbers, making phone calls, and keeping the business running. And it keeps on running.
Noriko works seven days a week, year around, and takes days off only to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year. Equal to the amount of time she puts into making the business work, she also puts in a lot of thought regarding other aspects that might affect her business. She’s aware of global economic impacts such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (also known as TPP), personal health concerns like gluten-free ingredients, and environmental impacts causing her to consider waste minimization. And to relieve stress, when she has the chance, she enjoys watching Japanese dramas.
A line outside of Matsumoto’s Shave Ice pre-renovation
This past year, Matsumoto’s Shave Ice moved back into its renovated space, a space twice as big as it was before. Their landlord, Kamehameha Schools, completed the renovation as part of their North Shore Master Plan using local companies such as Group 70 and Allied Builder Systems as architect and contractor. In addition to a new space, they also celebrated turning sixty-five years old. Coincidentally, the same age as its owner.
To celebrate this momentous occasion, Noriko decided to sell shave ice for 65 cents. The last time a cone sold for that much was in the seventies. She also sold limited edition Matsumoto T-shirts, which sold out in a matter of hours. On the morning of the celebration day, Noriko recalls a long line of people outside the store and thinking, “Wow, how come so many people know about this event?”
Other Changes to Matsumoto’s
The New Store Front along Kamehameha Highway
With a store renovation, Noriko also faced other changes that she and Stanley were forced to consider. When asked why they switched from serving shave ice in white cones to paper bowls, Noriko demonstrated a hint of sadness. She did not remain despondent for long, but explained the reason behind it. “People drop the shave ice, it gets messy, then the flies and bees come […] since we got a new shopping center, we didn’t want to mess the place and make it dirty.” She acknowledges that eating shave ice from a cone is the local tradition, so they still have them for those who prefer to eat their shave ice as it was meant to be eaten. It’s a sort of hat tip to kama’aina and revisiting tourists. They can have their shave ice as they remember it years ago, and eat it too.
The flavors that Noriko enjoys aren’t ones that she remembers eating long ago, however. In fact they are newer flavors, and sour flavors. She enjoys yuzu, ramune (a Japanese soda flavor), and peach topped with mochi balls. In addition to changing what she serves the shave ice in, she also looks for additional flavors to pour on to the ice. Noriko is continuously focusing on bettering their product—especially the syrups.
Matsumoto’s Syrups
The old menu of shave ice flavors. Our favorite? The Hawaiian.
Matsumoto’s makes most of the syrups they use, and their staff taste tests them before serving it to the public. The syrups not made in house are proprietary flavors made exclusively for Matsumoto’s Shave Ice and imported from Japan. These flavors include peach, yuzu, and a few others.
They also refrain from using corn syrup and use real sugar instead. Their syrup making process is simple. “We just use sugar, syrup, and put simple stuff in it.” They make sure their syrups don’t sink to the bottom too quickly, but also ensure that when it is poured onto the ice, it soaks through to become balanced throughout.
No Intentions to Expand
With as much success that Noriko and Matsumoto’s Shave Ice have experienced, she will honor her father-in-law’s request not to expand. “[He] asked us not to franchise, and don’t open the store in other places. We should concentrate on one store. If we expand…the quality will go down.” She acknowledges that by doing so might cause them to “not last long”, and Noriko plans to keep going.
As times change and renovations are made, she wants to ensure her customers—international, domestic, and from across the island—will enjoy some of the magic she experienced many years ago.
New interior with an updated flavor board
“We want to just keep the store the same way…I was not happy at first [about the changes]. We told [Kamehameha Schools], ‘Leave us alone. I like the old style.’ But we have to follow them because they are our Land Owner.”
Noriko acknowledges that the changes turned out okay since many customers like the new digs. For others who remember the old Matsumoto’s Shave Ice, she sympathizes with their nostalgia. Not every decision she makes is easy, or popular, but as the brains behind the store, you can be certain that nothing will be lost in translation.
Noriko Matsumoto behind the counter
