Rising Stars: Meet Bud Chalmers

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bud Chalmers.

Hi Bud, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
We’re three brothers from New Zealand who play in a band, and we moved to North America to pursue a career in music. Landing in Toronto at the end of 2019, we were three (very successful) shows in when the pandemic arrived. Through a series of events, we’ve ended up in food again (the three of us worked in and ran restaurants back home for over a decade, involved in both the front and back of the house). Finding ourselves involved in ice cream, we came up with our own take on a number of New Zealand classics, such as pavlova, real fruit ice cream, and our signature creation, a soft serve version of New Zealand’s most popular ice cream flavor, hokey pokey! Three and a half months ago, we opened our first store in the Westfield Century City Mall. A month after opening, we uploaded our first TikTok, which was of the middle brother, Bud, making the hokey pokey toffee, and it now has over 22 million plays! The same video has over a million on Instagram, and this social media buzz has helped kickstart a lot of attention for our brand. Fortunately, the response to the ice cream itself has been as enthusiastic as it is to the social media, and the comment “This is the best ice cream I’ve ever had” is one we hear daily!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t think there’s ever a smooth road to success is there? Our road through the pandemic and beyond has been one of hard work, beginning with doing essential service work as furniture movers in Toronto at the beginning of the pandemic, and now for more than a year we’ve worked an average of 100 hours a week, starting with a mobile ice cream business and now moving into our first store! There is however a lot of satisfaction in having done all this as a group, and three brothers working that much together isn’t always a smooth road either, haha!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The three of us have always created together from a young age, whether it be music or food. This teamwork is one of the keys to our success – we critique and support each other in equal measure! The menu at the ice cream store is a reflection of this, every flavor and dessert requires unanimous approval before it’s allowed to be offered to the public!

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Knowing we’re working in an area where we have something unique and outstanding to offer and doing so in a way that everyone involved is positively impacted by the experience, whether its staff or clientele!

Pricing:

• Ice Cream Regular Cup or Cone $8.50
• Ice Cream Half Size Cup or Cone $6
• Cloud Bowl $13.50
• Hokey Pokey Shake $10

Contact Info:

• Website: hokeypokeyla.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/hokeypokeyla
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/hokey-pokey-la-los-angeles