Snowbiz
by Stacey Paretti Rase
photography by Stephen Faure and Thomas B. Growden
Summertime in the South and snowballs just seem to go together. There’s nothing quite as satisfying on a 90-plus-degree day than sitting in the shade enjoying your favorite flavor poured over finely shaved ice. Sometimes you’d swear the air has cooled off a good ten degrees by the time you reach the bottom of your white Styrofoam cup. Part of a snowball’s allure also rests in this one fact: You can’t rush eating a snowball. So a trip to the snowball stand is typically a social event, where you can enjoy a leisurely sit with a friend or your child, either talking about the day or saying nothing at all as you watch the clouds float by overhead.
If you grew up in the northern part of the country, you might have memories of slushies, sno cones, slurpies or just plain ole’ shaved ice during the summer. A snowball was merely something you rolled up and threw at your friends during a winter’s day fight. But down here, snowballs are king and snowball stands are an institution. And a hot summer’s day is likely to bring back memories of your visits to local stands, your favorite flavor as a child and the way your tongue and lips would stay a strange shade of green for days after eating it if your favorite was spearmint, like me! Some of my fondest memories take me back to the snowball stand on the corner of Marigny Street and Lakeshore Drive in Mandeville, which was packed during the long summers of the 1980s. The line was always long, but no matter—the wait was part of the fun. There was a sandy area in which to play, while you waited beneath the shade of moss-covered oaks and enjoyed the lapping sounds of the waves of Lake Pontchartrain beating against the sea wall. That stand is no longer there, but the following three establishments are some of the many that are flourishing and serving up the finest, coolest, sweetest treats on the northshore.
Bot & Nola’s
Okay, this is not a trick question, but it is a tricky question: Who do you call when you need a pothole fixed in Abita Springs? Why, the snowball lady, of course! That would be none other than Sheri Campbell, who is co-owner of that area’s thriving snowball stand, Bot & Nola’s, as well as mayor pro-tem of the quaint northshore town. She’s only been mayor since January, but has been running the stand with her husband, John, for four years now. You would think that Sheri’s interesting job combination would be the part of Bot & Nola’s story that’s most out of the ordinary. But the unique aspect of the Abita establishment may just be the products offered there.
“I love anything ‘old’ New Orleans,” confesses Sheri, who looks to me more like one of the high school-aged girls working the stand (such as dedicated employees Kristin Mineo and Brittany Meisner) than she does an elected official and a mother of three. Her affinity for retro items definitely shows, and each item brings you back to a simpler time: lemon ice, candy lipstick, pop rocks, nectar soda, authentic roman candy and even candy cigarettes. Other items scattered throughout the stand reflect Sheri’s New Orleans upbringing, like the K&B purple basket on the counter. And many of Bot & Nola’s offerings reveal her treasured Italian upbringing, such as authentic spumoni and Angelo Brocato Italian biscuits.
But the business’ signature snowball flavor is perhaps its greatest tie to the Crescent City. It’s the Dr. Nut flavor produced to honor the early 20th century New Orleans-made soda by the same name. Bottled by the World Bottling Company, then located at 600 Elysian Fields Avenue at the corner of Chartres Street, the unique beverage had an intense and interesting flavor with a kick reminiscent to Amaretto liqueur. Long-time locals might remember that the company also bottled products named Grape Fruit, Lou Breese and Sweet Mandy, as well as a ginger ale. Sheri teamed up with another Abita Springs resident, well-known food critic and Dr. Nut fanatic Tom Fitzmorris, to mix a blend of syrup that would closely duplicate the soda’s taste.
“When we set out to do it, we thought that it would be just a special flavor for a limited time,” Sheri remarks, “But it really took off.” It’s no surprise. The snowball’s nutty flavor is unlike anything you’re likely to taste at a typical snowball stand.
Just as many customers arrive at Bot & Nola’s to taste the Dr. Nut snowball as those who simply inquire about the stand’s unique name. It’s coined after Sheri’s maternal grandparents, Nola and Bartholomew “Bot” Martina. The two once lived during the summer months at the home that occupies the lot next to the snowball stand, when they weren’t working at their demanding career in distributing seafood for their company Martina & Martina Oysters. “My grandparents once serviced 99 percent of New Orleans’ restaurants in the oyster business,” says Sheri, with a proud smile. “My grandfather passed away just five years ago,” she continues, “but his memory lives on here. This [snowball stand] was actually his tool room. With this business, I hope to be able to do something to give back to the community while at the same time honoring their memory.”
Papasams
If you haven’t been to Papasams stand in Mandeville, you just might be the last one on the northshore to not have tasted their popular snowballs. The business has been open for about 20 years and it seems that each day, from the moment the joint opens, there is a steady line waiting out in front of the colorful stand that sits on the service road just off Highway 190.
The first thing I notice when I arrive to interview Joey Roberts, co-owner of the stand with his wife, Kelly, is the multitude of adults waiting for their turn at the window. Not adults with kids in tow; simply adults. They all seem to be in no particular hurry on this Saturday afternoon and I find myself comforted by the fact that so many grown-ups still take the time out of their day to enjoy one of life’s simple pleasures.
I’m even more satisfied to learn that the flourishing business is owned by two extremely charming northshore natives. The young married couple has owned the stand for about four years now, but Kelly has been working behind the counter at Papasams for much longer. Serving snowballs with a smile was a favorite summer job for her, one she had all throughout high school. She was such a good employee that when the prior owners decided to sell, they first offered Kelly the option to purchase the business. “We knew it was going to be crazy,” recalls Joey, “but how do you pass up Papasams?”
Joey admits now that their life is “a good crazy,” as they try to keep up with the demands of three young children, ages 8, 4 and 2, as well as their busy jobs at Fontainebleau High School. Kelly is a guidance secretary and Joey works as a computer tech at the school. And, as if the day jobs, the kids and the snowball stand aren’t enough to keep the two occupied, they serve voluntarily as the school’s Swing Dance Club sponsors. “We’re extremely busy,” says Joey, “but we’re doing what we love to do.”
Their enthusiasm definitely shows in their work. Papasams takes pride in making its own ice and asserts that the practice makes their snowballs the best in the business. Joey explains to me the process of preparing the ice: 40 pounds are frozen at a time, after which it is set on a table to thaw for “just a bit.” Next, the ice is bagged and is left to sit in another special freezer for two days before it is used. “And we change our blades on the machines every two weeks,” says Joey. “That’s very important to have those blades sharp. It makes a huge difference in the quality of the ice.”
The couple also makes sure to always keep at least 60 gallons of water on hand so as to never run out of ice. “There were about five days last year when we ran out. We don’t want that to ever happen again,” laughs Joey.
One thing they won’t run out of soon is flavor options. Papasams offers more than 160 flavors, including their own special blends such as Reese’s Cup, Mounds, Root Beer Float and I Don’t Know. Never heard of the latter? It’s a combination of strawberry, watermelon and wild berry that’s a favorite with the kids. “It’s so funny to watch a parent yell over their shoulder to ask a kid what flavor they want, only to hear them yell back, ‘I Don’t Know!’” chuckles Joey. “The parents get so frustrated!”
The stand was named for the grandfather of its original owner, and it hasn’t been changed in two decades. In fact, the couple says not much has changed in twenty years of business except the layout of the interior of the space, which they have fine-tuned to keep the operation running like clockwork. Another thing at Papasams that doesn’t change often is their employee base. “We have great people who come back year after year,” says Joey. “We know that’s so important. We hire personality, because the people you hire are who you are. And customers always want to see a happy face when they’re coming to enjoy a snowball.”
Kool Breeze Snowballs
If you drive by the corner of Pine Street and Highway 22 in Madisonville during “off hours,” you’d probably not even notice Kool Breeze Snowballs. But if the stand is open for business, there’s no way you can miss it, with its steady line of customers and the small groups of family and friends who gather at the umbrella-covered tables nearby to enjoy their treats and listen to the sounds of the boats nearby on the Tchefuncte River. The small building is somewhat nondescript, but it’s been a destination for northshore snowball lovers for more than 22 years—making it one of the longest-running stands this side of Lake Pontchartrain. More amazing is that the business has not changed hands during those two-plus decades. The entire operation has been maintained for years by familiar faces Brenda and Buddy Pennington.
On second thought, perhaps I should say that Buddy’s is a familiar face to customers. Brenda admits that she doesn’t see any people most days, as she works behind the scenes making the snowballs while Buddy mans the window, greeting customers, taking orders and collecting money. “I’m like a robot in the back!” laughs Brenda, “But we’re really a team.”
Calling them a team is truly an understatement. The couple has been married for 45 years and have raised 10 (yes, 10!) children during the time they have run the popular stand. The youngest child was two years old and the oldest in college when the Penningtons ventured into the business. “We owned the land, and I just thought it would be a great spot to open a snowball stand,” remembers Marie, who has also worked for 16 years as a teaching assistant throughout the St. Tammany Parish school system. “And Buddy just went right along with it. He’s always been one to be ready to try anything.”
The two admit that they didn’t know a lot about the business of making snowballs when they began. But one thing they say they have learned for sure is that if someone doesn’t like their snowball on their first visit, they don’t come back. With that in mind, Marie says she set out to make their icy treats the best in the area.
“I think I might be too particular,” admits Brenda. “No, I know I’m too particular! I don’t let just anyone come in and work the stand or make [the snowballs]. I let my own daughter Chanda come in and work a couple of days a week, but I wasn’t letting her do too much. Things can get to be a mess and I’m fanatic about it. She finally told me, ‘Momma, if I’m going to work up here, you’re going to have to let me make the snowballs sometime!’”
Brenda is so hands-on that she has even made all of the simple syrup herself all these years. (The syrup gets mixed with the commercial extract flavors and then filled into individual bottles.) “I don’t let anyone else make it,” she notes. “They can make it, but I don’t let them!”
Interestingly, there was one employee years ago whom Brenda admits was just as good at handling the behind-the-scenes duties as working the front counter. “She was unbelievable and did everything that I did. Her name was Katie Brewster and my son Cory ended up marrying her. He took my best employee!”
But as time has gone on, the Penningtons say their family has pitched in to help and become more of a part of the business. If Buddy can’t be there, then son Blake will fill in. If Blake can’t, then Ryan will, then Chad, and so on and so on…Some of the kids even run a mobile snowball stand in town as well. They’re the folks you see with happy faces at the stand outside of Madisonville’s Coquille Sports Complex.
But the heart and soul of the business will always be Buddy and Brenda. “People think this is easy money, but it’s so much work,” says Brenda. “But it’s wonderful because we’ve seen kids grow up here and now we’re seeing their kids grow up here too.”
