Pelican’s SnoBalls offers a sweet, ice-cold taste of New Orleans in Palmetto
Grandmas and granddads, moms and little children were steadily making their way to Pelican’s SnoBalls on Wednesday, trying to choose from more than 100 flavors of snow cones.
Among the most popular flavors are strawberry cheesecake, watermelon, blue raspberry and cherry, said Geoff Lowe, who opened the business at 806 Sixth Street W., with his wife and co-owner, Liz, in December. The couple’s children, Madi, 19, and Brady, 14, also work in the business.
But rather than those other flavors, twins Ellie and Olivia Dzikas decided after long study that they wanted something called a Unicorn, whose first flavor is cotton candy.
Their mom, Kristen Dzikas, saw the buzz about Pelican’s SnoBalls on Facebook and decided to drive over from Bradenton to check out the new business.
Geoff Lowe, a veteran of the restaurant business and giant retailers like Amazon and Walmart, said that he drove all over Manatee County looking for the best location for the franchise, the 13th in Florida.
“I saw this building and all this parking located just off a main road,” Lowe said. “This is a family friendly environment.”
Lowe said he was drawn to the product by the flavors, which are exactly as billed, and the New Orleans-style ice, which is ground very fine and has the consistency of soft, fresh snow.
“It holds the favor and the flavor goes all the way through the product. The product is unique, and the flavors are exactly what you would expect,” he said. “We only use pure cane sugar and all the flavors are made in house.”
While the menu lists about 100 flavors, there may be as many as 160, including weekly specials and others. “We have anything you can think of,” Lowe said.
Jenny and Rich Littlefield and their granddaughter, Gracie, were also having a taste of something sweet: the Rainbow, with cherry and blue raspberry flavoring.
It was Jenny Littlefield’s fourth visit, but with different grandchildren.
Prices range from $2.50 for a kiddie size, to $3.50 for regular and $4.50 for large.
The business is open noon-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and 1-9 p.m. Sunday.
For more information, visit https://pelicanssnoballs.com/ or visit their Facebook age.
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
