By Gina Lanaux

I went to a lovely engagement party in Fairhope and the most fun thing happened. A Sno Ball truck arrived in the backyard and all the guests had made to order Sno Balls for dessert. How cool is that?! It was such a novel and delicious idea that I had to learn more.  

What is the difference between what we Alabamians call a Sno Cone and a Sno Ball? Amy Croy explains. “The ice of a Sno Ball is fine and fluffy; while a Snow Cone's ice is coarse, crunchy, and granular. In a sno cone, the flavored syrup sinks to the bottom of the cup, in a sno-ball the ice absorbs the syrup. A Sno Ball tastes like eating freshly fallen snow.” Snow is not something we know about along Scenic 98 but it certainly is enticing in the heat of the summer!

Amy Croy, along with her husband, Dale, are the owners of Amyzing Sno, a moveable Sno Ball stand, that will be making the rounds at private parties, festivals, family reunions, wedding receptions, corporate events, and ballfields, bringing the sweet and tasty treat to all ages in the area.  

At the party I attended, the hostess made Bushwackers ( if you know you know) and Amy poured the liquid on the ice to make a Bushwacker Sno Ball. Only for adults of course, but she also served another favorite flavor, Dreamsicle, that everyone loved. One guest said, “ It tastes just like an original New Orleans Sno Ball.”  They serve 12 to 18 flavors with names like Blue Raspberry, Cotton Candy, Watermelon, Pina Colada, and Tiger’s Blood. Amy has created a recipe for a King Cake flavor that she is excited about and will introduce at Mardi Gras.

Amy grew up ‘everywhere’, mainly California and Louisiana but her parents sold everything when she was a teenager and lived on a sailboat, traveling from the Bahamas up the East Coast. She attended LSU but visited a relative on Cape Cod and stayed 8 years, eventually graduating from Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. 

In 2000, she moved back to Louisiana and worked for Boat US, now known as West Marine. The company transferred her to Mobile and she has lived in the area for 20 years. She met Dale, who was in the Coast Guard for 22 years, at work. 

“He worked for me and when our relationship got serious, I had to fire him so we could get married!”  Presently, Dale is a project manager for the company that handles Coast Guard helicopter training in Mobile Bay and Amy does corporate accounts at B and B Pecan Company. “Twenty years ago, I told Dale that one day I wanted to own a Sno Ball trailer,” Amy said, “This is a part-time job that will become our retirement job that we can do together.”

They bought a used trailer in New Orleans and had it revamped inside and out with their logo. Amy was pleased to say that they donated the appliances from the old trailer to a Church group in Louisiana who will then give them to a man with special needs for his Sno Ball business. The business has its commissary at Bill E’s restaurant on Highway 181.

Besides traveling to events to make and sell Sno Balls, the company will offer a Brain Freeze Party Package that features a 26-quart ice chest filled with sno and 3 flavors of your choice of syrup. The sno will last 3 to 5 hours in the ice chest and make 40 to 50 sno balls. They also supply the cups and spoons. “It’s a party to go,” she says, ”especially the plain ice for adult beverages.” They also offer sugar-free syrups and a clear cherry flavor for those customers sensitive to artificial colors.

If you would like a Sno Ball party at your next event, call 251 716 8055 or email amyzingsno@gmail.com. In my opinion, it is a really COOL idea. Good luck, Amy and Dale. You are amyzing!