Uncle Clay’s House of Pure Aloha exits Ala Moana Center

Uncle Clay’s House of Pure Aloha has closed its shave-ice shop at Ala Moana Center, citing a lack of business exacerbated by coronavirus slowdowns. 

“Even prior to the pandemic, the business had only been teetering on the brink of not making it,” co-owner Bronson Chang said in an Instagram post this weekend. “After COVID-19, sales dropped precipitously, especially losing our visitor market.”

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Dear HOPA ‘Ohana,⁣ ⁣ We have news to share: 𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐀 𝐀𝐥𝐚 𝐌𝐨𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝. We know this may come as disappointing sad news to many especially during these already challenging times, so we want to focus on the good and positive.⁣ ⁣ Even prior to the pandemic, the business had only been teetering on the brink of not making it. After COVID-19, sales dropped precipitously, especially losing our visitor market. You could say COVID-19 was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. We’re Ala Moana Center for working with us to amicably terminate our lease.⁣ ⁣ 𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐀 𝐀𝐥𝐚 𝐌𝐨𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐄. From the moment the vision was born in late 2016 until now, it's truly been the ride of a lifetime. We constructed a brand new shop with a dedicated team of designers, architects, and contractors. We brought together and grew a team of HOPA servers and dished out delicious treats: HOPA shave ice, shave ice drinks, ice cream, and Alohasadas. Most importantly we served Pure Aloha to hundreds of thousands of ‘ohana—old & new, kama’aina & visitors—at our House at the most visited place in all of Hawai'i. We shared many happy moments, lots of laughter, and as Uncle likes to say “PQT” (‘personal quality time’) together. We gave everything we had and so with all this, we hold our heads up high with proud smiles.⁣ ⁣ 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐬: the Ala Moana Center team, investors, consultants & advisors, vendors, media, our HOPA team, our personal family & friends and most importantly our very loyal guests. 𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐌𝐀𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐎 𝐍𝐔𝐈 𝐋𝐎𝐀 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟, 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞.⁣ ⁣ Even though HOPA Ala Moana is no longer, we’ll continue serving you at the Original HOPA ‘Aina Haina. 𝗪𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 there and look forward to serving you soon. HOPA!⁣ ⁣ With Pure Aloha always,⁣ Uncle Clay & Bronson

A post shared by House of Pure Aloha (HOPA) (@uncleclays) on Aug 22, 2020 at 9:09pm PDT

Uncle Clay’s original location at Aina Haina Shopping Center will remain open.

Chang, the nephew and business partner of founder Clayton Chang, helped his uncle expand his brand, opening at Ala Moana as part of The Lanai food court in 2018.

Bronson Chang said the shopping center allowed them to “amicably terminate” their lease.