The Optimist
  • Home
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Policies
    • Staff Contacts
    • Jobs
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Multimedia
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos
  • Features
  • Print Edition
    • The Pessimist
    • Special Projects
  • Police Log
  • Classifieds
You are here: Home / Features / Shaved ice replaced by subs

Shaved ice replaced by subs

September 14, 2007 by Laura Acuff

By Laura Acuff, Student Reporter

Because of decreasing profits, shaved ice vendor and college-student favorite Bahama Bucks on Buffalo Gap Road has been converted into a sandwich shop, Island Hut, which specializes in subs and paninis.

“There’s been some sadness,” said co-owner Joe Thomson. “A lot of people come up still, even though we changed the signs, and think it is still Bahama Bucks. We just didn’t get enough of the college crowd [to maintain business], I guess because all the colleges are across town.”

Thomson said, sales had been dropping for a year and a half before Bahama Buck’s owner Glenn Sims decided to partner with Thomson to transform the snow cone shop into a restaurant.

“It needed more than just shaved ice,” Thomson said. “We decided that we would do a sandwich shop so that in the wintertime it would be profitable.”

Despite its reputation as a favorite among college students, being so far away from the three universities in Abilene likely stymied profits from that demographic, Thomson said. Recently, Island Hut’s customer base has consisted more of families, and the new restaurant sees more customers each day.

“It’s been slow coming,” Thomson said. “We see a growth everyday, everyday a growth.”

Heath Newton, junior Bible major from Round Rock, is a self-proclaimed Bahama Bucks enthusiast who said he ate there at least two to four times a month, was disappointed to find it no longer served snow cones and has not tried the new sandwich shop.

“I was appalled [by the change],” Newton said. “I do like local business, [but] if there were snow cones, I’d be more prone to go back.”

Though Glenn and Thomson currently have no plans to reinstate snow cones as part of their restaurant, Thomson asserted depending on how well their other products sell, they might consider adding shaved ice to the menu eventually.

“We’re just trying to make a business grow,” Thomson said. “We want everybody to come out and try it.”

Island Hut, located at 3910 Buffalo Gap Road, is open from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and serves subs and paninis made with the customer’s choice of several breads, meats, cheeses and toppings in addition to breakfast and coffee.

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: Eating Out

Other Features:

  • April is over, but sexual assault awareness is not

  • Women’s golf drives for success despite young mid-major status

  • Love is in the air, in Moody and on the Lunsford Trail

About Laura Acuff

You are here: Home / Features / Shaved ice replaced by subs

Other Features:

  • April is over, but sexual assault awareness is not

  • Women’s golf drives for success despite young mid-major status

  • Love is in the air, in Moody and on the Lunsford Trail

Follow us online

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Optimist on Twitter

Retweet on Twitter The Optimist Retweeted
optimistsports Optimist Sports @optimistsports ·
26 Jun

The United Athletic Conference is officially taking the place of the Western Athletic Conference in the 2026-2027 athletic year. The UAC is a joint football effort between the WAC and the ASUN but will now extend to all sports. #acuoptimist #acuathletics #wac #uac

Reply on Twitter 1938240320854008109 Retweet on Twitter 1938240320854008109 2 Like on Twitter 1938240320854008109 7 Twitter 1938240320854008109
Retweet on Twitter The Optimist Retweeted
ashleyh1607 Ashley Henderson @ashleyh1607 ·
3 Jun

My second year at ACU was full of opportunities that grew me as an individual and a journalist.

In my first year as editor in chief of @acuoptimist, we published six print issues, filmed a 3-hour live election show, and revamped our newscast, all while producing news weekly.

Reply on Twitter 1929734328445178254 Retweet on Twitter 1929734328445178254 1 Like on Twitter 1929734328445178254 1 Twitter 1929734328445178254

Optimist on Facebook

The Optimist

1 years ago

The Optimist

Video

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

The Optimist

2 years ago

The Optimist
"Ending my college education early was always the plan for me, but the things that I have been able to see, experience and examine about ACU’s community were not. I have found immense growth in ACU over the past three and a half years, but ACU still has a long road to climb if it wants to keep catering to students as the world changes around them." To read more of this article visit acuoptimist.com or click the link in our bio. #acu #abilenechristianuniversity #privatechristianuniversity #collegestudentopinion #acuopinion ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Videos

Optimist Newscast Feb. 28, 2024

Our top stories today include a recap of The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, the ... [Read More…]

  • Optimist Newscast Feb. 21, 2024
  • Optimist Newscast Feb. 14, 2024
  • Optimist Newscast Jan. 24, 2024

Latest Photos

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
    • Policies
    • Advertising Policy
    • Letters to the Editor and Reader Comments
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photo Galleries
  • Features
  • Advertise
    • Paid Advertisement
  • Police Log

© 2025 ACU Optimist · All Rights Reserved