News

Tikiz Shaved Ice & Ice Cream opens in Jacksonville

Tikiz Shaved Ice & Ice Cream, a mobile franchise specializing in Hawaiian shaved ice and ice cream, announced it has partnered with Jacksonville, Florida, husband-wife team Robert and Virginia Hocking to bring the "Coolest Truck On Earth" to the area.

November 12, 2015

Tikiz Shaved Ice & Ice Cream, a mobile franchise specializing in Hawaiian shaved ice and ice cream, announced it has partnered with Jacksonville, Florida, husband-wife team Robert and Virginia Hocking to bring the "Coolest Truck On Earth" to the area. The Hockings' Tikiz truck now services North St. Augustine and Jacksonville Beach, among other nearby communities, according to a company press release.

With steel drum music, colorful neon lights and water misters cooling off crowds on warm days, the food truck's presence provides a vacation-like atmosphere. Tikiz Shaved Ice & Ice Cream is available for birthday parties, fundraisers, school events, summer camps, daycares, youth sporting events, church functions, corporate events, carnivals, picnics, barbecues, movie nights, festivals and more, the release stated. Tikiz also offers a FUNdraising program, donating 20 percent of the day's sales back to the event or supporting cause.

"Opening our own business has always been a goal of ours,” Robert said. "Tikiz relentless fundraising system is what attracted us to this profession. Giving back to communities and putting smiles on faces, all while running our business, is a match made in heaven."

Tikiz's Shaved Ice & Ice Cream products are low-fat, gluten-free, contain no high-fructose corn syrup and are Smart Snack approved, per the guidelines set by the United States Department of Agriculture. Fat-free and served with a gumball at the bottom of each cup, the Hawaiian shaved ice can be enjoyed in any combination of 10 syrup flavors, including a sugar-free option. Ice cream rounds out the Tikiz's menu with a wide range of ice cream bars and sandwiches, the release stated.

Wrapped in a Hawaiian beach-theme, the custom-built Tikiz truck is decorated with traditional surfboard signage and décor. With a patented "Surv-Board" dispenser, guests can customize their own fruit syrup creations. Each unit is based off of new, heavy-duty and fuel-efficient Ford truck platforms that are built from the ground up with numerous custom components. For example, the self-contained water system and high-output batteries allow operators to produce more than 400 shaved ice servings per hour and eliminate the need for noisy generators.

"Our main focus with opening up this business is to make our community and school involvement a top priority,” Virginia added. "We have two beautiful little girls that we hope to make proud and we want them to see the importance of making a difference locally."

Tikiz Shaved Ice & Ice Cream has more than 20 trucks on the road and another 20-plus in development.