People Are Waiting in 90+ Minute Lines to Try This East Bay Shave Ice

Photo byBay Area Telegraph

I never wait in line for anything. At Disneyland, I buy the uber-expensive passes that let you skip the line. I’ll happily go to the DMV at 11 AM on a Tuesday to avoid the long waits.

So it was very much unlike me to wait in a massive line at Livermore, California’s wildly popular shave ice place.

Photo byGado Images

And yet, when I visited this weekend, I waited. And waited. And waited.

In total, the line to get a seven-dollar shave ice at this Maui-inspired restaurant took 1.5 hours. That’s right; this intrepid reporter stood in the sun for over 90 minutes to get a bowl filled with snow and a bit of colorful liquid poured on top!

The kicker is that it was totally worth it.

The place is Ululani’s Shave Ice. if you’ve ever traveled to Maui, Hawaii, you probably visited this staple of the local food scene.

Photo byBay Area Telegraph

For years, we’ve been saying they have the best shave ice in the world. Just after the pandemic, I got to sit down with David Yamashiro of Ululani’s. At the time, he told me he was working on expanding to the mainland. The location in Livermore, California, is one of the first phases of this expansion.

Portrait of co-founder David Yamashiro speaking to staff at Ululani’s Shave Ice restaurant on Maui, Wailuku, Hawaii, July 31, 2021. Ululani’s Shave Ice is rated among the best shave ice restaurants in the world. Photo courtesy Sftm.

By all indications, it appears to be going extremely well. When I arrived on a Saturday afternoon, the line stretched out the door of the restaurant, which is located across from the Livermore outlets.

A few tents had been set up to help block the sun, and about 50 people patiently waited in line to get their shave ice.

Part of the reason for the line is the store’s popularity, but also the labor-intensive process of crafting each shave ice.

When you order, a staff member hand-shaves the ice from a block of purified, frozen water. They then manually poke holes in the ice and carefully pour on handmade syrups, which use real cane sugar and fruit purée.

You can top your shave ice with mochi (you should definitely do this), a “snow cap” of condensed milk, or a scoop of ice cream.

I got the No Ka Oi, which is one of the iconic flavors and features tropical syrups like passionfruit and mango.

Shave ice topped with Snow Cap and toasted coconut at Ululani’s Shave Ice restaurant on Maui, Wailuku, Hawaii, July 31, 2021. Ululani’s Shave Ice is rated among the best shave ice restaurants in the world. Photo courtesy Sftm.

The wait, I admit, was excruciating. That’s a long time to stand in line, especially when the thing you’re waiting for is so delicious.

But in the end, the shave ice makes the wait totally worth it. This is the exact shave ice you would enjoy in Maui – eating it, you have no idea that you are in a strip mall in Livermore.

It’s totally different from the snow cones and Italian ice I ate growing up in the Philadelphia suburbs, with its fluffy texture and authentically flavored syrup.

You can get the Keiki Rainbow flavor for your kids, but make no mistake – this is fancy, adult-friendly shave ice.

I had visited the Ululani’s location in Livermore right after it opened. The lines at the time were substantial, but often the hype dies down.

I’m glad to see that that’s not happening here and that people seem more excited months after the opening than they did when it first came out.

Especially given everything they have gone through, it’s especially heartening to see. Ululani’s original restaurant in Lahaina, Hawaii, restaurant tragically burned down during Lahaina’s horrific wildfires last year. Many family and staff members of the restaurant were affected by the fires.

It’s nice to see their Bay Area outpost thriving in these difficult circumstances. If you want a genuine taste of Maui here in the Bay Area, drop by. Maybe bring a book!

Read Next

• Ululani’s Serves the Best Shave Ice on Maui
• Where Does Southern California Stop and Northern California Start?
• Wait, the Golden Gate Bridge Was Going to be What Color??
• Jax at the Tracks: Everything to Know About This Classic Truckee Diner