Today we’d like to introduce you to Star Cruz.
Star, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always dreamed of owning my business. Growing up in my abuelo y abuelita’s bodega in Second Ward is a major part of who I am. Hard work, determination, ambition, and believing in yourself was instilled in me very early from my grandfather, Juan Cruz. He was a baker by trade and sold pan de dulce at his bakery on Canal Street here in Houston. He saved his money and bought a two story house on 202 Drennan street, just blocks from the famous Maxwell House plant on the East Side. His hands developed arthritis so his business changed to a grocery store selling groceries, beer, and cigarettes. We also had arcade games for all the neighborhood kids.
It was absolutely the best childhood! At ten, I worked hard helping abuelo in the store by sweeping floors, stocking shelves, bagging groceries, and later graduating to running the cash register! As payment for my work at the end of the night, my grandpa would open the Ms. Pac Man arcade game and take the quarters out but not before giving me like 100 free credits! To this day, it is hard to beat me at Ms. Pac Man, lol. In fact, my first raspa I ever sold was in my grandparent’s store in second ward the summer of 1986 for .50 cents.
I wish I could say it was an easy path from there to my shaved ice business but it wasn’t. My grandfather died shortly after his promise to me to buy my own business when I turned fourteen. So I worked many years in the food and beverage industry moving to working in a large law firm after my daughter was born. I was super happy and loved my job working downtown but my co-workers didn’t feel the same. My work environment was quite wretched for two years. I had gone as far as I could go, given the environment.
I realized I could only be happy if I were running my own business. I took my savings and dug deep and dusted off my dreams and made it happen. It reconnected me to my past, my roots, and I took pride in continuing the Cruz family business legacy of serving the community. I love meeting the great people of Houston and the looks of happiness from my customers when they take their first bite of a Star Berry Snoball.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I landed my first real gig and signing a contract with Aramark to serve at Miller Outdoor Theatre. I went on to sign a contract with Leavy Sports and Entertainment to vend at that same venue once Aramark left. I handled all aspects of the business myself like social media, operations, and paperwork, etc. It didn’t take me long to realize I had my hands full and was a bit overwhelmed! It was all happening so fast and it was scary yet exhilarating at the same time. I hired two employees and we had a successful season. It has been a challenge but during every season at Miller we just got better at serving more customers with faster service. Seeing our loyal customers come back to Star Berry Snoballs year after year has been immensely rewarding.
Please tell us about Star Berry Snoballs.
Star Berry Snoballs makes Louisiana style snoballs with a Texas raspa twist. A snoball is the softest of shave ice. A Snow Cone is made of crunchy ice and flavored syrup that is made with corn syrup and preservatives. A snoball is soft like snow ice made with the famous SnoWizard shaver that was engineered by an American Grocer during The Great Depression. With ice cream too expensive to indulge shave ice treats dubbed “penny sundaes” George Ortolano decided to invent an electrical ice shaver. It produced superior ice to eclipse the hand shavers everyone else was using at this time. Up to this day this is the BEST American made ice shaver in the world. Star Berry Snoballs only sells fresh syrups made daily adding no corn syrup or chemical preservatives. Just triple filtered water and pure cane non gmo sugar and stir! Along with traditional flavors, we offer a fresh fruit juice menu to make your mouth water like mango, mojito, strawberry, blueberry and flavors like matcha, orange blossom lemonade, Earl Grey tea and a horchata to die for. The raspa twist comes with offering Tajin, Chamoy, and LaLechera sweet condensed milk. Most others shave ice stands charge for these toppings but I believe they’re so integral to my brand that I give them away for free! At Star Berry Snoballs we are not going to nickel and dime you instead we are going to give you a superior product.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
It wasn’t until a year into my business that I recalled this childhood memory that reinforced I was on the right path doing exactly what I was meant to do be doing. Selling snow cones as a kid the summer of 1986 was the best! I felt like I was on top of the world my abuelo was impressed with me and told me he was buying me my own business when I turned fourteen. The neighborhood kids looked at me like I was the Queen of England. All the family was in and out the store as we hustled and worked together really well. Plus, I had the Million Dollar Man pinball machine, Ms. Pac Man, and Centipede to play for free. It was a great summer and I miss my grandparents and the innocence and fun of life during that time. I am grateful to have witnessed my Mexican grandparents living their dream and making a good living allowing them to own a home in Houston. It was a period when Hispanic owned businesses were such a rarity. Especially since they spoke only Spanish and very little English. They were a great inspiration.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 832-228-6457
- Email: starberrysno@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starberrysno/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/StarBerrySno
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/starberrysno/?ref=bookmarks
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