Brandon Baptiste
Wailua Shave Ice Co-Owner
The subway rumbles under Columbus Circle in New York City. Inside the towering Time Warner Center is Per Se by Chef Thomas Keller, one of the best restaurants in New York. This is where Brandon Baptiste cut his teeth, working tirelessly 12-16 hours a day, perfecting his culinary skills, and learning from the very best, to be the very best.
Today, Brandon Baptiste is back home in Kapaʻa, Kauaʻi. He opens up the Winnebago window of Wailua Shave Ice to start the business day. This spot, under the warm sun and bright blue skies of eastern Kauaʻi, is about as far away from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan as it gets. But Baptiste moved home for a reason. He ended his pursuit of super-chef stardom to take care of his family in Kauaʻi – and he hasn’t looked back since.
Now Baptiste applies the skills and attention to detail he learned as a chef to shave ice – the local version of a snow cone. With fresh, natural flavors and innovative, elevated recipes, he’s reinvented what shave ice can be – and the world has taken notice. Lines form early here in Kapaʻa because people are passionate about his shave ice. Baptiste has even expanded, opening successful Wailua Shave Ice shops in San Diego and Portland. Not bad for a local boy whose path to success was both unexpected and inevitable.
Today, Brandon Baptiste is back home in Kapaʻa, Kauaʻi. He opens up the Winnebago window of Wailua Shave Ice to start the business day. This spot, under the warm sun and bright blue skies of eastern Kauaʻi, is about as far away from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan as it gets. But Baptiste moved home for a reason. He ended his pursuit of super-chef stardom to take care of his family in Kauaʻi – and he hasn’t looked back since.
Now Baptiste applies the skills and attention to detail he learned as a chef to shave ice – the local version of a snow cone. With fresh, natural flavors and innovative, elevated recipes, he’s reinvented what shave ice can be – and the world has taken notice. Lines form early here in Kapaʻa because people are passionate about his shave ice. Baptiste has even expanded, opening successful Wailua Shave Ice shops in San Diego and Portland. Not bad for a local boy whose path to success was both unexpected and inevitable.
“Just being home, it reminds you of the important things in life.”
What was it like growing up on Kauaʻi?
I grew up in Kapaʻa, where our shave ice stand is. Our logo is the “Sleeping Giant,” the mountain range right behind our house. It's a very small town, low key, very connected, very loving, a very nurturing place, where people take care of each other. And everybody's just down to help each other.
What were some of your early memories of eating shave ice?
One of my first memories is of Hawaiian Blizzard, Uncle Aaron’s shop. Uncle Aaron was the shave ice guy growing up and he was just always this super nice guy that you always went to. He’d tell you to pick some colors. I was pretty boring – blue and yellow. You’d get your shave ice, you'd sit with your family and your friends, and just have a good time. Food memory is probably one of the strongest memories in the brain and we just want to be a part of people's lives that way, something that will last with them for the rest their lives.“Hawaiʻi is an amazing place. And all it is, is this combination of all these different cultures that came together and out of necessity, had to assimilate.”