Summer keeps folks lined up for Wilson’s By The Bay shaved ice

HILO—It’s a hot summer day in July and there’s a line to the door at Wilson’s By The Bay. “That’s normal to us,” says Aly, an employee. Aly and Rosa are the regular team working this small Downtown Hilo ice shave shop. The locally owned business is usually known by word of mouth; when you hear “Wilson’s,” everyone thinks of the place with the best and cheapest shaved ice in all of Hilo. They also sell candy, t-shirts, tank tops, hats, long sleeves, and delicious beverages.

Wilson’s started out as a very small business in a building up in Kaumana that is now known as Crivelho’s. Mark Sato and Leyson Sakai owned the business as a partnership 14 years ago when Mark decided to move to Oahu. He sold his half of the business to Leyson who at the time was only 20-years-old. As Leyson’s sister, Aly has been working in the family business since she was five. By comparison, Rosa has worked there for about five months.

When asked, on average, how many customers come into Wilson’s a day, Rosa and Aly look at each other in confusion. “It’s hard to keep track because people usually come in packs or families, which makes both of us busy at the same time,” explains Rosa.

“It’s normal for a line to be all the way out the door onto the sidewalk outside on a sunny day,” says Aly.

Wilson’s offers 18 different flavors for their ice shave, all of which are homemade by Leyson and come in three different sizes—keiki, small or regular. The deluxe ice shave is any size you pick and it includes ice cream and/or azuki beans. The keiki is $1.50, small is $2.50, regular is $3.50, and the deluxe is $4.00. You can also add extras like li hing mui seed for 25 cents or a crème topping for 50 cents.

Youth News for The Hawaii Independent asked both employees why they like working at Wilson’s. “I like being able to make customers happy. It’s just those little things like seeing little kids stoked about getting shave ice, those things just make my day worthwhile”, says Aly.

Rosa shared this story: “There was this little girl that came in yesterday and ran back in the store after she had a shave ice to tell us ‘you guys are the best!’ And it’s things like that.”

Wilson’s By The Bay
224 Kamehameha Ave
Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 969-9191