A member of the Pasco EDC's SMARTstart entrepreneur program is ready to mobilize her business.
Woman-owned shave ice company Maggie's Snow Shoppe went from "concept to camper in less than a year," the EDC said. It will now serve up its treats to East Pasco County and beyond.
Liz Guerra, founder or "main snow slinger," started using the East Pasco Incubator Kitchen at the One Stop Shop in Dade City in the summer of 2022. She was a full-time student and a mother of two when she started her own business.
“When Liz first reached out, I was duly impressed with the passion she had to take a childhood memory and seek to turn it into a thriving enterprise,” said Dan Mitchell, SMARTstart program director, in a release. “To watch her go from idea to a really neat and trendy mobile shave ice camper in such short order is what makes me love the work we do at SMARTstart."
What set Guerra's shave ice apart from others is her all-natural, fruit-based recipes and her "Made in Pasco" syrups, the release said.
“The SMARTstart program helped me with accountability and actually going through with my plans," Guerra said in the release. "When I started with SMARTstart, I didn’t really know if I wanted to launch, but the guidance and other entrepreneurs gave me the push and encouragement I needed to do it.”
The shop is named after Guerra's grandma Maggie.
Maggie's Snow Shoppe's mobile camper will serve shaved ice throughout the county; it can often be found at 7th Street Mini Golf and Game Parlor.
A ribbon cutting will be held on August 25 at the East Pasco Incubator Kitchen.
