Family and faith both mean a great deal to Taavili Ieremia, the owner of the Perefoti Island Fixx food truck business.

Born in American Samoa, Ieremia and his family moved to Hawaii in 1975, and he remembers participating in fundraising efforts like selling barbecue plate lunches in the 1980s at Maili Samoan Church of the Nazarene in Waianae.

Ieremia shares that his food truck company, which sells refreshing Polynesian drinks and desserts, was named after his father, Perefoti.

“He inspired me and did a lot of work for the church,” Ieremia says.

He also credits his daughter, Verona, for motivating him to open the food truck business two years ago. “It was my daughter’s vision; that’s why her picture is on the food truck,” Ieremia explains.

In fact, the story goes that one day, Verona created her version of cold vaifala, which is a sweet traditional Samoan drink made with fruit. Her delicious concoction prompted her dad to go into entrepreneurship.

“My daughter made a vaifala and it was the best we ever tried. It was a hit and we ran with it,” Ieremia says.

Today, he runs three food trucks. One is located outside the Salt Lake Target store, another is in Kunia across from Times Supermarket, and a third is in Ewa Beach, traveling to sites at Geiger Community Park and Ewa Mahiko District Park. In addition, the biz also participates in special events across the island.

One of the most popular drinks is the vaifala strawberry, which costs $7 for 24 ounces, $10 for a refillable mason jar full of the sweet treat and $20 for a big 64-ounce bottle.

Meanwhile, a watermelon-flavored version of the drink called vaimeleni is another hot seller.

Perefoti Island Fixx is also the home of the famed faausi kalo ice cream ($12), which is the company’s top dessert item. It features caramel, haupia ice cream and taro, which creates a delicious mochi-like texture.

A third fan favorite are the floats, which can be ordered in an array of flavors including strawberry, banana, poi and more.

Each float ($8 for 24 ounces, $12 for 32 ounces) has two scoops of ice cream.

Ieremia says he’s grateful to many others for the success of his business.

“I would like to say ‘thank you’ to our customers who have been supportive these past years. They are so loyal,” Ieremia adds.

Perefoti Island Fixx

4380 Lawehana St., Honolulu
(outside the Salt Lake Target store)
808-773-2449
Instagram: @perefotiislandfixx
How to pay: Cash, Apple Pay, credit cards
How to order: In person, by phone