Penny’s Malasadas Las Vegas is ready to rock the Ninth Island! According to the brand’s Instagram page, the Hawaiian Donut shop with ties to Waikiki plans to open its first Las Vegas Valley shop in Enterprise at 8525 Blue Diamond Rd., Suite 130.
“After successful ventures in Hawaii, we wanted to expand to Las Vegas because of its large ninth island population,” owner and founder Andy Slikker said in an interview with What Now Las Vegas.
“Penny’s Malasadas Las Vegas is an expanded version of our anchor in Waikiki, offering all of the same delicious items with some new and unique items that will separate us from every other malasada you’ve ever seen! Featuring a glass display kitchen where guests can view our dough being hand crafted! We’ll offer a warm and welcoming space that’s filled with love and aloha.”
The new shop will open along the Mountain’s Edge neighborhood of southwest Las Vegas, inside the Shops at Blue Diamond Durango retail shopping center near the intersection of Blue Diamond Road and S. Durango Drive.
“We decided on the location for a number of reasons: it’s in the heart of a strong supporting ninth island population, it’s on the cross roads of two majors streets (Durango and Blue Diamond), and it has great access and an AMAZING atmosphere,” Slikker said.
Slikker founded Penny’s Malasadas in 2018 on the North Shore of Oʻahu, starting as a food truck and growing into a prominent Hawaiian brand. Penny’s launched as a stationary food truck in Lāʻie (near the Polynesian Cultural Center), then added a second food truck in Aiea. The brand expanded from food trucks to a permanent brick-and-mortar location inside the Royal Hawaiian Center in Waikiki, hence the name Penny’s Waikiki Malasadas.
“It’s a tribute to my late mother, Penny,” Slikker said.
“The family we’ve created in her name reminds me of her sweet spirit and sharing the skills she passed on to me makes me feel proud.”
Slikker’s mother,Penny, worked as a pastry chef and first taught him how to bake and fry. Penny’s is known for an ultra-light, airy dough created through a six-stage chilling, folding, and cutting process known as Formula 41. The brand specializes in made-to-order warm malasadas, with traditional options and filled varieties like ube, coconut custard, and Nutella, as well as alternative sugars such as cinnamon, matcha, coffee, and li hing, plus daily ice cream malasada sandwiches.
“Penny’s LV will offer menu items you won’t see anywhere else — for example, our Irish Creme filling or our Triple CCC (coconut custard with coconut glaze topped with toasted coconut flakes) or our Maple glazed Mac nut,” Slikker said.
“Plus every all the originals like Lihing Mui sugar and Ube Creme. And SO MANY more!”
