WORDS Tara Crutchfield
PHOTOGRAPH Amy Sexson
Cabana Boy Ice Cream before sitting vacant for some time. Looking online at local real estate, Chuck said, “We saw it pop up, and I thought, ‘Let’s go check it out. It looks interesting.’”
Put on your finest Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops – Cabana Boy Ice Cream is open for business, baby! Well, they’ve actually been open for two months and have quickly become a sweet tooth fixture in Winter Haven.
So the couple came to the vacant spot and sat at an old fiberglass table to check the place out. “All of the sudden, this car pulls up, and this lady and two kids get out to get ice cream,” Chuck said. The Erickson’s relayed that the business was closed. Shortly after, another truck pulled up with a couple also looking for a cold treat. Chuck said, “This is interesting. Let’s make an offer on it just for fun.”
A bright spot of manicured landscaping, tiki décor, and Hawaiian music on Avenue G NW, Cabana Boy Ice Cream is the brain (freeze) child of self-described “ice cream addicts” Gina and Chuck Erickson. Chuck is in the business of skateboard manufacturing and started Sabotage Skate Shop in Winter Haven, and Gina is an accountant. They moved to Auburndale from California.
The Erickson’s bought 2610 Avenue G NW ‘as is’ and started the three-year-long renovation project. Little by little, they worked to replace the septic, install new three-phase electricity, flooring, new walls, fix the air conditioning – the list goes on. The Erickson’s gave their future ice cream shop a total tiki makeover. “I think where it really started was this restaurant and bar called the Royal Hawaiian in Laguna Beach, California. I started going there as a little kid with my family. I actually proposed to [Gina] there,” Chuck said. “It’s like my favorite restaurant. It was super old-school, dirty
The ice cream shop may have opened two months ago, but renovations on the building have been gradually ongoing for three years. “When we bought it, it was a disaster. It needed everything,” Chuck said. Gina agreed, “It needed so much love.” “Since 1974, from what we understand, it was the Banana Boat. There was a couple that owned it for years and years,” Chuck said. Eventually, the building would change hands
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