Shop Local: Dessert shop brings a taste of Hawaii to Morris

MORRIS – A dessert shop has brought a taste of Hawaii to Liberty Street with Hawaiian Shave Ice.

Laki Hawaiian Ice, located at 208 Liberty St. in Morris, was opened after owner Tiffany Olson visited an aunt in Utah in July 2020 and had Hawaiian ice for the first time.

“I loved it so much that when I came back home, I wanted to take my husband to try it and there wasn’t anything like that here,” Olson said.

So when she opened her trailer, she wanted the name to mean something. Laki pronounced Lock-E, means lucky in Hawaiian.

Olson said the name is in honor of her 8-year-old daughter who sings with River Road Trio, a local band, the song “Lucky.”

In May 2021, Olson opened her own Hawaiian ice trailer, but she was only able to have it open five months out of the year – so she opened a brick-and-mortar shop in September.

“In the trailer, we only had Hawaiian ice, so it’s pretty exciting to get so many new items for people to try – like our walking apple pie,” Olson said.

A walking apple pie is a bag of graham crackers crushed with apple pie filling and a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with caramel.

The shop offers over 50 specialty Hawaiian ice flavors ranging from banana, and kiwi to cookie dough, along with ten flavors of homemade cotton candy ranging from grape and watermelon to pina colada.

The abundance of flavors and the scent of cotton candy in the air make Laki the perfect destination after a rough day.

“We like to bring Chezel in because it’s a safe, positive atmosphere for kids in town. It’s fun for her,” said Amy Kain, of Morris.

Olson enjoys experimenting with her products, recently she has created Laki Soda, which allows customers to use any of the shave ice flavors to create a specialty soda by using seltzer, flavor and cream.

Laki’s menu has expanded to include ice cream, milkshakes, and edible cookie dough along with multiple toppings.

“Laki makes me feel like a kid again. It’s like excitement in a cup,” said Jennifer Zdanwie of Morris.

Laki Hawaiian Ice is open Wednesday to Saturday from 1 to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 7 p.m. For information on events and new flavors visit their Facebook page.