Hello Keno! Welcome to the board !

Hi everyone, so happy to have found this site. I will open my doors for business next month. Excited but a little nervous. I will purchase my machine this week. I think I may go with the swan. I was hopening to sell strictly organic shave ice but can not find syrup anywhere. I would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you

Hello welcome to the board by the way! Post away as you will

Wow organic syrup huh? , yea it is difficult to find and the cost is wayyy to high for us in Hawaii since we only charge our customers $2.00 or so for one. I am currently using HAWAIIAN SNOW'S concentrates to make my syrup, they are very ONO! , have you tried theirs yet? If you can't find anything out there as of yet, maybe you can try them out. They do have 4oz samples for $3.50 or so.

Hello Everybody!
My name is JD and me and my girlfriend (Danyelle) will be running our newly built concession stand (will post pics later). I am 20 years old and we live in South Carolina (but NH native ) I hope i can learn from everyone here and our business will take off. There is only one other shaved ice stand around us and they are fifteen minutes away so I hope our business grows fast. I look forward to reading all the posts.
Thanks for having us,
JD & Danyelle

Hi JD, glad we have some young entrepreneurs here on the board! Welcome and aloha! If there is anything you need, we are here to help.

My name is rdrunner and I live in Las Vegas, NV. I am purchasing the MC-711 hand crank ice shaver due to how impressed I was at a recent party I attended. My family loves shave ice and we have purchased two cheap cube shavers that basically just turn the ice into sno-cone consistency which I totally hate. (Nice for a warm day but a sorry excuse for a real shave ice). Plan to use the machine at family gatherings and other church and friend parties. Don't know if we will ever use it to sell shave ice but who knows, this could be the start of something big!

Hi, my name is Lisa from Spokane, WA. I grew up on Oahu and took my kids there for the 1st time last month. I've loved shave ice since forever but it wasn't until our last visit when my kids had to have a shave ice at the end of everyday that it got me starting to think about bring Hawaiian Style shave ice here to Spokane. We have to have NSF approved machines, so I think I'm going to go with the block shaver by Hatsuyuki. I don't think we're going to get it up and going until next Spring since I'm getting a late start for this summer. Besides the fact that I just discovered that there's no one here in Spokane that makes block ice. So on the fence with making my own????
I'm so happy to have found this forum! Hoping to learn and get any advice I can to get started.

My name is Kelly and I live in Georgia but Oahu was my home when I was a child. I used to buy shave ice on the beach almost daily as a kid and no kid was more obsessed with the delicacy back then than me. In 2005, I got a job working on the entertainment staff of a cruise ship that took two week cruises out to Hawaii, and every time I was in port I would go get a shave ice- some things never change. My favorites are Scandinavian Shave Ice and this little place in downtown Hilo where I could get azuki beans in the bottom of my shave ice- I can't remember the name of the place but if anyone knows what I'm talking about I would love to know the name. Anyway, after all those years I am still obsessed and my husband made the suggestion that since this is such a sentimental and coveted treat for me, that I should bring more of it to people on the mainland. So, I'm here to gain some insight from the pros

Hello
I am Sal from St.Louis, Mo. I am brand spankin new to this shaved ice venture but thrilled to get rolling.( i cant get it off my mind and its driving my fiancee nuts ha)
I am 28 years old native of St Louis. I own a St Louis Style Pizzeria and as of yesterday have added shaved ice to the menu. Next spring i am opening up a kiosk near a park and police station so i need all the tips to get rolling on this biz so if anyone knows any good ones let me know.
I bought an Hatsuyuki HC8E Cubed and a SWAN si100 Block. Swan is much better quality but i have an ice machine here at the shop so i think i will just used the cubed machine for now.
If anyone knows of a good way to make Block Ice or know of how i can easily get 12# blocked ice chopped down to where it can fit in a Swan si100 Shaver PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!! That is my biggest task right now!!

As of right now i stuck with the local syrup company RIO for syrups but if anyone knows of a great company with decent prices and great taste i have an open ear.

One last question before i go.......With the Cube Shaver i have should i pack the ice down with a funnel, spoon, hand mold or just pour syrup directly onto it after it comes out of shaver

Ciao

Hello Everyone,

My name is Fred and I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area. I just purchased a used Snobiz machine (looks like a Swan). I'm a newbie to the whole shave ice thing, and like many of you, I fell in love with shave ice when I visited Kaua'i. I'm still learning to perfect the craft by serving shave ice to my friends and family. Seems I'm doing a fairly good job as they keep coming back for more!

My goal is to have a mobile shave ice business working out of a vintage ice cream truck, and get this, karaoke also! I have my eye on a particular truck that I would like to acquire that fits into my "vision". I currently attend most of the car shows, fairs and festivals in the Bay Area...I figure why not share my love for shave ice and karaoke at the same time?! Anyways, I've already learned a lot from lurking on this site. I thank you all for your insight!