Snow in the summer

After living in a utility closet for six months and working as a car-hop at Sonic for four years, Justin Gates decided he wanted something extra out of life - more money. "I got tired of working at Sonic. I wanted to make more money and the only way to do that was to open my own business," Gates said. Last May, Gates opened his own snowball business. Gates bought a snowball stand from Brain Freeze Industries and a trailer hitch package to attach to the back of his black and white striped Camaro. He said the only problem with hauling the stand behind his Camaro is that his gas mileage went down from about 20 to 15 miles per gallon. Gates then got a permit from the Department of Health and Hospitals, along with a sales tax license from East Baton Rouge parish and was ready for business. Last summer, Gates said he drove his stand up and down Airline Highway, selling snowballs to most of the car dealerships in the area. "It was going well until Katrina hit," Gates said. "Then the traffic on Airline got so bad that I wasn't making enough money." Gates said he decided to post his snowball stand at the BREC Stanford Park Baton Rouge Beach around the lakes this summer. Marcus Battley, a regular customer and student at Southern University, said, "I come here because it's convenient and quick. Most places you have to wait a while for your snowball. Plus, [Justin] is nice." Gates said he adopted the same flavor list as the man who initially sold him the stand. Gates said he then added chocolate and two sugar-free flavors due to customer's requests. "This is the only stand that has a good chocolate flavor," said LSU student Stacey McDaniel. Gates said he now has a total of 28 flavors. "I wanted to tailor to the customer's needs," he said. "I'm also thinking about offering vanilla ice cream in the future." Born in Baton Rouge, Gates is a chemistry junior at LSU and said he plans on switching his major to accounting. Gates said he is considering law school as well. In addition to selling snowballs, this summer Gates said he is attending piano and economics summer school classes at LSU. Gates said he always does his best to keep busy with school work and his business, especially during summer. He said this helps him manage his time more efficiently. "It helps to stay busy," he said. "It seems the more idle time I have, the more idle I am." Beginning April 1, Gates said he runs his snowball stand on Stanford Ave. seven days a week, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., until the last day of September. Monday through Thursday, Gates also runs Independence Park Concessions in the softball field on Independence Blvd. from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.. Here, Gates said he sells chips, cookies, pickles, bottled water, Powerade and some canned drinks in addition to the snowballs. "I have no night life during snowball seasons except for weekends," Gates said. "The heat exhausts me, so I'm too tired to do anything after work." Gates said he enjoys his business because when he is posted, he is not stressed or driving and can sit and do his homework. "School comes first during the school year though," he said. "I wouldn't work if I had a test." On a typical day, Gates said he averages around $120, but his profit can range anywhere from $80 to a rare high of $280. Gates said the stand came with a freezer and ice shaving machine, so he had to buy the blocks of ice, cups, straws, spoons, napkins, flavors and their containers. After totaling the cost for all the products, Gates said he makes about a 50 to 60 percent profit. He said he is not worried about competition with other snowball stands in the area. "People will go where they want to go," Gates said. "Although, I do think I have the upper hand by being in a location that is convenient for LSU students." He said his location is convenient not only for his customers, but also for him because he lives just off of College Drive. Gates said his customers consist of mostly students, runners and parents with kids from schools around the area. He said his most popular flavors include strawberry, ice cream, wedding cake, cherry and blue bubble-gum. "Strawberry is a classic and one of my favorites, too," Gates said. While Gates said he does not necessarily consider himself a local celebrity, he said he feels like people know who he is thanks to his snowball business. "People recognize me," he said. "I'll be at a bar or Wal-Mart and people always come up to me and say hey." Gates said he plans to continue selling snowballs at least until he is done with college. He said he has a younger brother, Zachary, who might take over the business after he leaves. Gates said he is also available for parties, special events, daycares and private booking. "I'm here to satisfy the campus sweet tooth outside of ice cream," Gates said.

----- Contact Carolyn Scofield at cscofield@lsureveille.com