Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Warsaw residents can now have "family fun at a family price" all the while staying cool at the Caribbean Tropical Fruit Ice stands found around Warsaw.
Michael and Amelia Grubbs, Warsaw, own two of the shaved ice stands in the city: one in the Wal-Mart shopping plaza and one on North Lake Street by Woodies.
Amelia said their stands opened the second week of May and "when the weather permits" they open at 11 a.m. and stay open until 9 p.m. "But, since it gets too hot, (sometimes we don't open until) noon."
This is the Grubbs' fifth year running the ice stands. Amelia said she and her husband bought the stands from Dan Cox, Warsaw, who ran them for approximately six years.
"It's really great," Amelia said. "If the weather's really hot, more people (visit the stands)."
Amelia said she liked running the stands so much that she quit her factory job.
"It's very interesting," Amelia said. "I'm from Hawaii but I was born in the Philippines. The tropical flavor is different here than what we have over there."
She said her husband is "good about tropical stuff and likes hot weather."
So they "both put it together" and decided to bring the tropical flavor from Hawaii to Warsaw.
"It turned out great," she said. Amelia said quitting her factory job was "the best thing I ever did."
Now, she said, she can set her own hours and meet a lot of different people.
"We get feedback and ideas of flavors from people," she said. "It's really interesting and at the same time fun."
And prices, she said, are reasonable: a large shaved ice is $2, mediums are $1.50, smalls are $1 and kiddie sizes are 50 cents.
Amelia said they're trying to sell one of the stands to buy a larger one. The other stand will be remodeled.
"We want to get a bigger unit and travel from fair to fair and (to) activities in Warsaw," Amelia said.
Places you might see the Caribbean Tropical Fruit Ice stands are Mentone's Egg Festival, Pierceton Days and the Plymouth Blueberry Festival.
"I really like it," Amelia said about running the stands. "It's very interesting meeting people and I'm learning a lot of flavors."
She said one of their stands has 50 flavors and the other has 63.
"You name it, we got it," Amelia said.
"(We have approximately) 113 flavors all together," she said. "I've only tasted five flavors so far."
And all kinds of people visit the stands. She said a customer from New York stopped a few times and tasted 13 flavors in two days.
"The customers really like it," Amelia said.
Currently, the stands employ "high-school-age kids, 14 to 15 years-old." She said they work a maximum of 15 hours a week.
"This business is great also for senior citizens," Amelia said. In the future, she hopes to hire senior citizens to help run the stands.
But for now, Amelia and her husband employ teenagers and even family members. She said her two grandsons, Zachary, 6, and Jacob, 3, from Goshen, have also worked at the ice stands. But, she said, of Jacob, with a smile: "all he did was eat." And, Zachary: "I was amazed for 6 years old."
Amelia and her husband are pleased with all the business they've been receiving.
"(We've) got great customers," she said. "(They're) super customers. Without them we would never do this business."
The Caribbean ice stands will be open until late September and will re-open in the spring.
"We close up at the latest in September because it gets cold," Amelia said.
