Absolutely new to the industry but am considering purchasing two shaved ice stands in a small city in the Southeast. I've researched and Googled more than I care and am amazed by the hype via the internet these days. There is massive , redundant information, profit and loss, business plans, trailer's for sales, kit's etc.

Call me a Doubting Thomas, but when I see that much spam info out there I begin to wonder. All I want are legitimate answers to various questions before I take the plunge full time into the shaved ice business! This is the first forum-type information source I have found and I thank the owners/developer's of this site for this excellent resource.

My scenerio:
Shops: 2
Comuunity size: Appx. 50,000
Competition: 1 other shop
Locations: Both shops will be located within heavily used city parks. One close to volleyball, playground, soccer, and baseball fields. The other close to softball and a spray park
Planned menu offerings:
- Shaved Ice: kiddie, small, medium, large
- Soft Pretzels: 4 choices
- Soft drinks / Lemonade
- Packaged peanuts or other salty snacks
PLanned operation hours 11:30am - 8:oopm Mon-Sat, 12:30pm-6pm Sundays

Background: The two shop in question of being purchased were open appx 4-5 hours/ day, sux days per week last year. They normally closed by 5:30pm. Combined sales of the two shops from April-July were jusy under $35,000. Shaved ice was the ONLY menu item.

Basically, I am seeking to be the only concessionaire within the city's two largest parks.

I see the opportunity as very feasible. However, I am also very aware that food/restaurant businesses come and go about as quickly as a snowcone can melt on a blistering summer day in the South!

As there are two stores, I would need two part-time employees to cover the 2nd operation. I would use teenage help during busy hours. My goal is to keep wage expenses under 40% of sales.

I feel I need to average $300/day in sales per location.

With the above details advised, do any of you long-time shop owners have any suggestions or advice. I would love to know average daily sales figures from any of you that may care to share. What times of the day are best times, etc.

Thanks in advance.

I'm not sure how much it would take to stay afloat, but I know that it takes quite a bit of foot traffic with a moving stand. When I lived in Chicago, most of the business took place during the morning and afternoon rush. Drinks were selling for about $2-4 dollars depending on the drink. In a place like New York I bet the business could be even better.

new to this biz as well getting ready to open up. have very high traffic spots. what can i expect to make?

I don't own a storefront, but we do different community events, festivals, rodeos, etc. I've had people ask me if I have a permanent location, but since we have very cold, snowy weather 8 months out of the year, that probably wouldn't work for us. Since we started our mobile shave ice stand in 2007, several other stands have popped up around our little town of 20,000.

Have you thought about a mobile business to start out? Perhaps investing in a good concession trailer or two and going to big events in your area? Or just renting a spot for your trailer or shave ice stand at a high-traffic location?

Our biggest event here is a 10-day national rodeo competition for junior high kids. We sell bewteen 250 and 300 shave ice each day at $5 each. I have 4 young college students that have worked for me the past 3 years, and they do a great job handling long lines. This year we're adding cotton candy, popcorn and nachos to our menu.

I suggest doing a lot of research in your area prior to making a committment. Hang out at the park throughout the day, see where and when the crowds are biggest to determine the best hours for your operation and get an estimate of how many people will past by your store. Expect to spend a lot of time figuring out your own system of making and selling shave ice and training your workers. Do a lot of events so people will recognize your name and your product. Find a reliable source for your solid block ice. And always use Hawaiian Snow syrups! They have the best flavors and your customers will keep coming back for more!

Good luck!

We are new to this site. We just purchased a new 7’ x 14’ concession trailer that we are picking up tomorrow. We are setting it up as a shaved ice and cold drink trailer with maybe one food item. 99% of our sells will be at events. Next summer we might look into a summer location at a ballpark. Really don’t know what to expect. We have another part time venture with a snack bar at an antique auction house. We are using the money from it to pay for entry fees for the events. Haven’t seen a lot of stationary shaved ice locations in our area. There was one couple who put on of the small Snowie trailers near a theater and restaurant but the theater was on top of the hill and the restaurant was more of a bar. If you have a good location and diversified menu you should be OK.