Summer never seems to truly come to an end in the Sunshine State. Luckily for Plant City, a new frozen treat company has officially opened.
Pelican’s SnoBalls has slowly built up a cult following throughout the United States. The New Orleans-style company prides itself on offering more than 100 flavors of sweet “smooth, fluffy snow.” Greg Davis, his wife Billie Jo and the rest of his family are helping local residents fall in love with the colorful treats. They held the grand opening of the business, located at 610 S. Collins St., on Sept. 6 and a large portion of the community showed up to offer their support.
At 2 p.m. the parking lot was full, even though the afternoon had already begun to enter the hottest part of the day. With the sun blazing above, the line to the order window curved as much under the offered shade as possible. Many families took their sweet treats — with many ordering Shark Attacks and Unicorns — to the colorful indoor seating. A few brave souls, however, challenged the sun in that age-old contest: finishing the shaved ice before it melts.
The outdoor venue is filled with hula hoops, corn hole and a giant connect four board. Children, buzzing from their sugar highs, ran around the picnic tables, laughing and enjoying the company of their friends.
Several customers finished their SnoBall and promptly got back in line to take home one of the business’s iconic tie-dye t-shirts, vowing Davis had just made them lifelong fans.
Davis said the SnoBalls are unlike anything Plant City has seen before. Unlike a snow cone, which he said can often be hard and full of jagged ice, SnoBalls are genuinely more like balls of soft, icy fluff.
“These are really fluffy shaved ice, where a traditional snow cone is really hard and crunchy,” Davis told the Observer in July. “They’re completely different, and once you have a SnoBall you will realize what you’ve been missing. With Florida being such a hot and humid environment year-round, having this refreshing treat available is really going to be a benefit to the Plant City community.”
With the heat continuing to break records, the crowds have yet to die down. If you want to try one of more than 100 flavors for yourself, the business is open from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.