AnonymousSource: ParadICE
ParadICE is bringing authentic, Hawaiian style shave ice made with all natural syrups, to downtown Santa Barbara. Located at 11 W. De La Guerra St., the shave ice shop is directly across from the Paseo Nuevo Theater within the Paseo Nuevo Mall. The small locally owned business was started by longtime friends Lee Jacobs & Marek Nold, who are ready to share their tongue tantalizing treat with anyone interested in being transported to the islands for a mini vacation, minus the expensive plane ticket. “Our shave ice makes you feel like you’re on vacation,” said Mr. Nold.
Sometime in 2012 Lee’s wife (Chelsea) suggested Santa Barbara needed a shave ice shop. Never having had a shave ice Lee wasn’t sold on the idea until visiting Maui in 2013 with wife & daughter (Mia). Lee took his first bite of authentic Hawaiian shave ice and was immediately hooked. “One bite and I realized I wanted to bring this back home to Santa Barbara,” said Mr. Jacobs. Once back on the mainland, Lee purchased his first ice shaver on Amazon and recruited Marek to share in his new obsession. The two got to work, experimenting with making syrups and shaving ice. It wasn’t until August of 2015 that ParadICE was officially formed. “Our dream was to open up a shop, but we didn’t want to rush into things. We wanted to do it right and make sure our community loved our product,” said Mr. Nold. “Catering for parties and private events gave us that opportunity. Everywhere we went, everyone loved our shave ice!” Since early 2016 Lee & Marek have been passionately working to open up their first shave ice shop. “We didn’t rush into things and made sure to do our homework before making major decisions,” said Mr. Jacobs. “We are really lucky to have found such an awesome location and landlord who has been very reasonable & supportive.”
There will be no snow cones served at ParadICE, and the syrups will not contain high fructose syrup, artificial coloring, or artificial flavoring. Instead, the ParadICE crew will be serving up powder soft shave ice which they make by shaving solid blocks of ice, and then drench the ice in homemade syrups made up of purified water, organic sugar, and fruit purees & concentrates. Customers have the option to add a scoop of ice cream on the bottom of their shave ice, then pick up to three flavors of syrups, and can add toppings such as sweetened condensed milk, local organic honey, chia seeds, and/or mochi. All of this combined ensures every shave ice served at ParadICE is delicious from the first to last bite, refreshing, and downright delicious. For those looking for a recommendation, Mr. Jacobs suggests the Zephyr which includes a scoop of Vanilla ice cream by Santa Barbara Ice Cream Co., three flavors (Mango, Passion Fruit, & Blood Orange), and is topped with sweetened condensed milk and local organic honey sourced from San Marcos Farms. “We want to work with local vendors and sprinkle in some of their goodness where we can,” said Mr. Jacobs.
The shop will be environmentally conscious and will be using compostable cups, spoons, straws, and 100% recycled napkins. In addition, ParadICE opted for an electric ice cream dipping well which sanitizes ice cream scoops without the need to be constantly running water, which is estimated to save approximately 250,000 gallons of water per year. “An 8-minute shower uses around 17 gallons of water,” said Mr. Nold. “Santa Barbara’s drought concerns are still very much something to keep in mind. The amount of water saved by going with an electric ice cream dipping well is equivalent to 14,000 showers or 38 years of showers if you bathe daily. That’s a lot of water and we hope others will join us in the use of electric ice cream dipping wells.”
