{"id":2967,"date":"2026-07-23T20:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T20:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2967"},"modified":"2026-07-23T20:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T20:04:13","slug":"matsumoto-shave-ice-turns-75-the-north-shore-shop-that-became-iconic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2967","title":{"rendered":"Matsumoto Shave Ice turns 75: The North Shore shop that became iconic"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<section>\n<p>HALE\u02bbIWA (HawaiiNewsNow) &#8211; On any given day along Kamehameha Highway, the line says it all: Matsumoto Shave Ice remains one of the North Shore\u2019s most beloved stops.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2965\">Downtown building evacuated after fire scare<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This year, the family-run shop is celebrating 75 years in business \u2014 a milestone that traces back to a small neighborhood grocery store, a hand-crank shave ice machine, and the legacy of a man whose name still hangs above the door.<\/p>\n<h4><b>A family business that started as a grocery store<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>\u201cIt was started by my parents \u2014 Mamoru and Helen Matsumoto,\u201d said Stanley Matsumoto. \u201cAnd then there were three of us. That\u2019s the same year I was born too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stanley said the shop began as a grocery store \u2014 an opportunity made possible by the previous owner, Mr. Kazou Tanaka. About five years later, the Matsumotos expanded into what would become their signature treat: shave ice.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<h4><b>A machine from Japan \u2014 and a local fix<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>According to Stanley, Tanaka traveled to Japan to purchase a shave ice machine and brought it back to Hawai\u02bbi.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a hand-crank manual machine, but there was a machine shop in Honolulu that put it in a case, and they put a motor on top,\u201d Stanley said. \u201cSo, we didn\u2019t have to do it like a hand crank.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When the family began selling shave ice in 1956, Stanley said the prices were a fraction of what they are today: a small was 5 cents and a large was 10 cents.<\/p>\n<h4><b>Growing pains \u2014 and everyone pitching in<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>Like many family businesses, Matsumoto Shave Ice grew with the help of everyone at home.<\/p>\n<p>Stanley said even after he left for National Guard training, the family kept the store going.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI joined the National Guard, and I went for four months training, came back, and kind of helped my parents around,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>And while others enjoyed weekends and beach days, the Matsumoto kids put in hours behind the counter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile everybody was going to the beach\u2026 when my sister and brother came back on the weekend from school, they would work on the weekend to help,\u201d Stanley said.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<h4><b>Then and now: the lines keep coming<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>Old photos show crowds lining up outside Matsumoto Shave Ice in 1981 \u2014 and the scene today looks much the same.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2963\">Indian national arrested in Hawaii in alleged gold bar fraud targeting elderly victim<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The shop is still located along Kamehameha Highway in Hale\u02bbiwa, though changes came as the area developed and it became part of the Hale\u02bbiwa Store Lots.<\/p>\n<p>Renovations shifted the storefront over time: the original entrance is now a souvenir shop, while the shave ice window is tucked toward the back.<\/p>\n<h4><b>A treat that brings back memories (and draws famous faces)<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>From first-timers to longtime locals, the colorful cups of shave ice continue to light up faces of all ages.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just a landmark,\u201d said Chad Uyehara, who was visiting from California but is originally from Honolulu. \u201cIt\u2019s been iconic, and it brings back childhood memories.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Its reputation has also reached beyond Hawai\u02bbi: visitors and celebrities \u2014 including Adam Sandler, Wayne Brady and Jason Segel \u2014 have all stopped by for dessert.<\/p>\n<h4><b>The meaning behind \u201cM. Matsumoto\u201d<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>For Stanley Matsumoto, the store\u2019s success is inseparable from his father\u2019s story.<\/p>\n<p>Stanley Matsumoto said Mamoru came from a poor family and struggled growing up. Born in 1908, Mamoru traveled to Hawai\u02bbi as a young man \u2014 around age 20 \u2014 and lived with relatives for years before eventually pursuing his dream of owning his own store.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Stanley Matsumoto also shared a family belief about just how deeply Mamoru cared for the business.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy dad always thought the store was his number one child, because he just loved the store,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Even when Mamoru\u2019s health declined and he stayed with family in Pearl City, Stanley Matsumoto said his father missed being at the shop \u2014 and wanted to return.<\/p>\n<p>The store\u2019s name carries its own message.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cM Matsumoto stands for my dad\u2019s first name \u2014 Mamoru,\u201d Stanley said. \u201cIn Japanese, it means to protect so, he\u2019s still up there protecting the store, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2962\">Keiki Hula Festival takes place at the Blaisdell Arena<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On any given day along Kamehameha Highway, the line says it all: Matsumoto Shave Ice remains one of the North Shore\u2019s most beloved stops.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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