Today we’d like to introduce you to Louis And Rozita Nelson.
Hi Louis and Rozita, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Awooooo!!
Our journey into the shave ice world began back in 2010 with the discovery of a little old lady in Mt. Airy, NC who had a purple she-shed setup in the parking lot of the Mayberry Mall.
We stopped by for treats and she was rather chatty. And when she mentioned that she had used the money she made from her shave ice business to fund her children’s college, she had our full attention!
And for many years later we would often revisit our conversation with that lady. And from there our dream to someday open our own shave ice business began to grow.
It seemed as if everything time we felt like the time was finally right, something else would happen to cause yet another delay in our plans. But fortunately we made some friends along the way who would later, unbeknownst to us, become wonderful resources for our final launch.
Both of these friends had acquired their Mobil food units (shave ice trailers) from the same manufacturer too. So we were all comparing apples to apples, or should we say equivalent equipment.
We moved to Galveston Texas in 2023, shortly after having visited for a Christmas-time cruise. We fell in love with the beach town vibe. And everything seemed to just fall in place from there.
We ordered our food trailer, stocked it and went thru the whole process of establishing a new business. Talk about an exciting time!
Not even the anticipation of the health inspection diminished our excitement. Our excitement excited the inspector!
Our initial business location was at Seawolf Park/Pelican Island. There we met lots and lots of friendly tourists and everyday anglers. We enjoyed the views as we were surrounded by the beautiful waters and various vessels.
But one very important aspect was missing for us and that was the sense of community connection. And that’s what makes our current location so special.
Today we are doing business at 601 6th Street No. in Texas City. We are a small part of the community there. The people love having us there and we love being there too.
What happened? After careful consideration, we decided that we should venture out in search of a better space for us to set up our business. Because having a sense of belonging is important to us.
It just so happened that we moved our adult son, Kimeko, to Texas City. And one afternoon we stopped by this spot for a bite to eat. There we met Mr. Wrice who owns and operates WRICE BBQ, at 601 6th Street No., Texas City!
We got to talking and discovered that we’re all Army veterans. It felt like old times when we would sit on the stoop and share stories and good food. We just clicked.
The next thing we knew, plans were in motion for our businesses to join forces. We began saying that WRICE BBQ has the good meats and Wolf Pack Shave Ice and More has the cool treats.
It’s been like a match made in heaven with the three of us ever since. Our businesses compliment each other’s and the community has welcomed us with open arms! We love being able to share our passion with our newfound community.
We made a promise to our customers that we would remain open all during the winter months, as long as the weather conditions were right. Then it started to get cold and then warm again. We discovered that Texas kind of weather.
We’ve been closed now for about a month. And we haven’t had time to fell the sadness. Because we bought a new house and we’ve been busy moving. And our son has had a couple of bouts of pretty serious illnesses.
Right now we’re wanting to host a customer appreciation event. Because we feel it’s important that we continue to say thank you even though we’ve been closed. And because we’ve got plans to be right there on that corner for them when the weather gets nice and warm again. We made that promise to them.
So now, you too can come curious and leave happy!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Awooooo!
If owning and operating a business was easy then Louis and I believe that many more people would do it.
With that, it has not been a smooth road for us. But we refuse to be people who give up on ourselves, each other or our dreams.
Our struggles have been due partly to some financial challenges. Along with finding a good location from which to brand ourselves.
We overcame the money challenges and have been in operation for two seasons. The first location was not a desirable one. But now that Texas City is, it’s unfortunately looking like the zoning board wants to push us out.
Because since we opened up, the new city park which is down the street from our location opened a few months later. And they want all of the food trucks in Texas City to be in that park.
We remain hopeful that this will end in our favor.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Awooooo!!
Louis and I met while working as correctional officers at a prison in Washington state. But entrepreneurship has always been at the heart of who we are and what we love most to do.
Our first venture into entrepreneurship was in real estate. Where we built a profitable business together as a team, in a new city. We sold confidence to people who wanted to be homeowners, but didn’t believe they ever could. We’ve also been members of various multilevel marketing organizations over the years.
This is what we’re most proud of. Being in a
position to give hope to the hopeless.
What sets us apart is our commitment to one another. We believe that we are stronger and more capable when we work together. #TeamNelson
How do you define success?
My definition of success is being able to make the world a better place for everyone else. Whenever I can play even a small part in doing so, that’s success to me.
Pricing:
- $5 smalls
- $7 larges
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wolfpackshaveice.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wolfpackshaveice
