By C.D. DESALVO
Hays Post

In 2013, a broken leg caused Jarett Gross to figure out how he was going to make income during his time off work. He ended up turning a trailer into the Snowcone Express, where he would sell snowcones to customers while parked in the Big Creek Crossing parking lot.

Gross ended up making more income with his snowcone business than with his old job, so he decided that the Snowcone Express was going to be his new occupation. With the mobility of the trailer, Gross would also move his business around town, posting up at various events and parties to sell treats.

“I moved around so much while doing events of things for people that the regulars at the mall would call me asking where I was at,” said Gross. That kind of showed me the need for a inline store and, after talking with Big Creek Crossing, I ended up moving the trailer inside the mall in 2015.”

By the time Gross had moved the trailer out of the mall and renovated the indoor store, he had caught the entrepreneurial bug.

“I set goals for myself,” he said. “My goals were to get the Snowcone Express trailer established, get the store inside the mall finished and then open up an ice cream truck. I saw a need for it. There’s a certain nostalgia behind an ice cream truck.”

Gross bought an old J.T. General Store van in March from Allen Brungardt and promptly began transforming the old van into an ice cream truck. Gross still plans to use the Snowcone Express trailer for birthday parties, events, the Ellis County Fair, etc. Despite his personal success, Gross reiterated that he could not have done all this on his own.

“I have definitely not done it alone. I have had a lot of help from my family, and local business owners that are friends of mine have given me encouraging words,” Gross said. “Just having a business has been learning and trial and error. That’s the only way you can do it.”

Ice Cream Express is officially up and running and can be reached at (785) 639-7669.

It will be open Tuesday-Sunday from 11am-5pm for job sites and curbside delivery, and 6:30-9:30pm for neighborhood cruising. Permanent routes will be determined over time.

You can also check out Facebook to find the locations of the Ice Cream Express and Snowcone Express.