Southern Breeze 2007 Summer Issue - (Page 36) HANSEN’S SNO-BLIZ S 4801 Tchoupitoulas Street New Orleans, Louisinana 504-891-9788 Ashley Hansen (above) is proudly carrying on her grandparents’ tradition of serving their famous snowcones to children and adults alike (right). ummer arrives early in New Orleans. For some, summer’s heat and humidity are signs of the season, but for many New Orleanians it’s the opening of Hansen’s SnoBliz that truly ushers in New Orleans’ summertime with a seasonal right of passage: an icy snowball! Snowballs are a true New Orleans creation, and Hansen’s Sno-Bliz shop at 4801 Tchoupitoulas Street (pronounced “chop it to las”) is the top tier snowball shop in a city that takes its snowballs as seriously as its haute cuisine. While other cities settle for snow cones made of crushed ice and sickly sweet syrup, New Orleans cools off with a unique frozen confection of powdery-fine ice layered with dreamy concoctions like Nectar Cream, Strawberry Shortcake, and Cream of Coffee, often topped with condensed milk or ice cream. Hansen’s Sno-Bliz shop opened its doors in 1934 in the midst of the Great Depression and has been operating ever since. Its founder, Ernest Hansen, a machinist by trade, invented the patented SnoBliz ice-shaving machine that grinds ice to an impossibly fine powdery snow. His wife, Mary Hansen, developed a secret syrup recipe and handmade the dozens of syrups. And like their 75-year marriage, Ernest’s ice and Mary’s syrups were a winning combination that stood the test of time. For more than 70 years, people have gladly waited in line for more than 30 minutes for a taste of Hansen’s icy perfection. Sadly, Mary Hansen (95) died in September 2005 after a struggle with Alzheimer’s disease and being evacuated during Hurricane Katrina. Ernest Hansen succumbed to cancer shortly after his true love in March 2006. They could be found working at the stand, inseparable right up until Hansen’s closed the day of Hurricane Katrina. But the Hansen’s spirit and their dream lives on with their granddaughter, Ashley Hansen, who is carrying on the family tradition with the help of her father, local judge Gerard Hansen. New Orleans’ new reigning snow queen is anything but. Ashley inherited more than the family business—she also has her grandmother’s smile and sweet disposition. She helped her grandparents run the shop since the age of 15, gradually taking over more of the responsibilities as their health declined. “My friends were all having children,” she laughs, “I had grandparents.” Her duties grew from helping clean syrup bottles and manning the cash register to complete responsibility for her grandparents and the business. 36 s o u t h e r n b re e z e . c o m http://southernbreeze.com
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