One of Louisiana’s popular summer treats recently made its way to Tallahassee. Popularly known as the “snowball,” the frozen treat is getting lots of attention with the help of Jarrett Maloy and his Sneauxball shop.
It started in Louisiana as a fundraiser for a youth development program for student athletes, Maloy’s snowballs quickly turned into much more after a day of selling them one Saturday in an apartment complex. After the property manager saw how much the tenants enjoyed the treats he asked Maloy if he would cater an event the following week. “After catering the event the snowballs literally snowballed into more events,” said Maloy.
Event after event, Maloy’s snowballs quickly turned from a fundraiser to an actual business.
After much success, the Tallahassee native decided to bring his business home where he opened up his Sneauxball shop in late February near the campus of FAMU. Unlike most dessert shops and restaurants, Maloy’s shop is open only two hours a day Monday through Friday and five hours on Saturday. “I chose these operating hours for two reasons: One, I have another job and two, as a marketing tactic. By opening up only two hours out of the day it kind of makes people gravitate toward you. If you’re going to get one you’ve got two hours to get it,” he said.
Melonie Smith, a junior at Florida State University, is a fan of the snowballs. “I had my first snowball when the truck came by my apartment complex back in March. I literally fell in love with the mango snowball,” Smith said. “They’re a great way to cool down this summer.”
Thirty-three snowball flavors are offered, along with a popular cheesecake stuffed snowball. The cheesecake stuffed snowball is exactly what it sounds like, a snowball stuffed with homemade cheese cake in the center.
With the dessert shop being so close to FAMU, business is projected to grow even more during the fall semester when students return to school.
Although Maloy is the only person operating everything in the shop, he is looking to hire in the fall as well as extend his operating hours considering the increase of business headed his way.