Lappert's Hawaii — Restaurant in Kauai

On 9/6/21, my wife and I Walked into the business. I did not have a mask, and went to walk in by covering my face however was advised I needed to have a mask. No problem, I know I needed one but unfortunately forgot it at home. The gentleman behind the counter , Sy, then proceeded to yell at me to back away from the door after I left, staying I couldn’t “loiter” as I was trying to tell my wife (who had her mask) what flavor to order me. Again, just as rude as the first time however being in the wrong and forgetting my mask, I didn’t say anything. Immediately after, an older gentleman (maybe 70-80s and using a walker) comes humbling in without a mask. Again, Sy rudely yelled at this man to put a mask on, to which the older gentleman proceeded to stop, apologize, and slowly get his mask out of his pocket. That wasn’t quick enough for old Sy tho, as he yelled at him a second time, even ruder then the first. The gentlemen stated politely “I’m still getting used to these masks.” Sy in turn responded by saying “it’s been two years, you should be used to this by now.” Well Sy, maybe this gentleman is visiting from a state that didn’t require a mask mandate. Like most senior citizens, the gentleman was just slower to put his mask on, and just like me, was in no way rude to Sy. My wife and I left without getting anything, and even created this google account just in the hopes that Sy, or his boss, Reads this. If you’re reading this Sy, I hope you feel good about yourself for being so disrespectful and unprofessional to a kind...

When we entered the Café it smelled wonderful like fresh baked waffles. And indeed that's what they do, they bake and form their own waffles, which taste amazing. But even more amazing was their ice cream or gelato (I don't know the difference, always been thinking gelato is just Italian for ice cream). They've got a huge selection of different flavors it's so difficult to select from, that you can either get the standard one or two scoops (which are HUGE, at least compared to what I'm used to at home) or you can get the "I don't know" option (it is named like this for real) from their menu like I did, giving you 5 "half scoops" and thus more flavors to choose. My favorite was the coconut flavor and the baked banana with caramel one, the roasted macadamia and salted something (I really don't remember) was awesome as well. Basically, all flavors we chose (7 different ones in total) were awesome. The price is pretty decent given the size and the quality of their ice cream. I also had a double cappuccino and I really liked the strong roasted coffee aroma of the espresso used. The milk foam on top was magnificent. Overall, worth a visit, nice cozy and small place, you can smell the waffles, coffee and other pastries (which we didn't try yet, but they all looked awesome, fresh and tasty) produced there. You can enjoy your gelato, coffee or pastries outside, but the available places are few. Very friendly stuff as well, the Café is very clean and...

The title of this review could well be the sad demise of Lappert's Hawaii. That said it is unfair to judge an entire brand by one location. I've been a visitor to Kauai since 1980, customer of the Poipu location since its opening and a customer of the original Koloa location since its opening. Lappert's was once a great ice creme but judging by my recent experiences at the Poipu location that is no longer the case. It has been deteriorating for years and my visit tonight will be my last. It is no longer the great ice cream it once was and I would certainly not use the adjective "premium" to describe it. Tonight I had a scoop of their top selling flavor. It was overly sweet, overly soft, a small portion and actually had ice crystals in it indicating it had been in storage for some time. After 35+ years as a customer I'm not sure where I will get my next ice creme cone on Kauai. But I do know it won't be Lappert's. (Rude, disinterested...