Snowy Berry Upgrades from Kiosk to Mall Storefront

To lure passersby—and to supplement dessert sales—Solis tapped into another “avenue of income,” as she puts it, by selling fresh sandwiches and teas. She figures she sold sixty drinks at the August 2 grand opening, practically enough to pay for the shaker-mixer machine that makes them.

Furthermore, sandwich supplies are available locally, so there’s less chance of running out. That’s a risk she takes with chocolates imported from Austria and jellies imported from Italy. She also has a few Italian tea tins for sale, which add to the Old World décor.

“A lot of people come over here, and a lot of them are military, and they’re like, ‘This reminds me of a shop in Europe,’” Solis says. She describes the shop’s decoration as vintage rococo, rendered in vibrant pink.

Growth Trajectory

Desserts weren’t Solis’ first choice. She began by selling tamales in Florida, where her husband was stationed with the US Air Force. When they relocated to Alaska, she found less of a market for her tamales. Solis took a class in cocoa bombs and discovered a product that sold faster than she could make it.

Her husband now works at the Anchorage School District, and in the evening he helps at the shop, too. Her three children are homeschooled in the morning, and they don aprons when the shop opens and gain practical, on-the-job experience.

Given the pace of Snowy Berry’s ascent, Solis can reasonably expect to expand soon enough. “I’m being optimistic, but I’m thinking in two years we might open one at another location,” she says. “I’m hoping we would have employees by that time.”

From behind the counter, her son japes, “What do you mean? You already have employees!”