our STORY

"One day... I will own this shop",  said a young five year-old Clayton. As the shop owner looked down on the energetic boy he could see the fixed determination in the boy's eyes and could feel an immense loving spirit spilling from his little body.

Little Clayton grew up to become "Uncle Clay". He made good on his dream. He took all he had and threw himself into running the humble crack seed and candy shop "Doe Fang" nestled in the quiet lush valley of ʻĀina Haina, Oahu.

From 1996, Uncle Clay grew into a beloved figure of the community, serving his sweet treats seven days a week and spreading Pure Aloha with everyone he met.  Yet, the small business struggled, but Uncle Clay never wavered. 

Eventually, rising rents and shifting economic conditions had drained all of the earthly resources Uncle Clay had. But his spirit of Pure Aloha and his love for every guest, neighbor, and friend never cracked. 

Just when it seemed there was no choice and Uncle Clay was being forced to close the doors to his dreams, his nephew, Bronson, stepped in.

With the same love and spirit of his Uncle, Bronson took Uncle Clay around the shoulders, "This dream is too important. We can't give up".

Bronson had a vision and a plan. Uncle Clay's mission to bring our entire One World 'Ohana took a new medium: all-natural, homemade, and handcrafted shave ice. 

Bronson heroically rallied family, friends, and patrons, to launch the reimagined vision: Uncle Clay's House of Pure Aloha or "HOPA".

Together with the rest of "Team HOPA", they share, connect, laugh, cry, and weave together the hearts of every soul that enters their house. Oh yeah, all while delivering the most delicious shave ice!

After serving hundreds of thousands of bowls of shave ice to guests at The "Original" Uncle Clay's HOPA, Uncle Clay and Bronson were asked to stretch their wings and grow the dream to reach even more people.  So in 2018, HOPA opened its second House at the most destined place in all of Hawai'i--Ala Moana Center--serving a new community there the same beloved shave ice, an expanded menu of locally made ice cream and other treats, and of course a whole lot of Pure Aloha.  In 2020, due to challenges with COVID-19, HOPA Ala Moana was forced to close.

Uncle Clay and Bronson are currently exploring new ways to continue sharing Pure Aloha beyond Hawai’i, including writing a children’s book and creating other Pure Aloha content for our One World ‘Ohana.

The rest of our story and journey will be written in the years and decades ahead, mahalo for all your support!  HOPA!