Ice, ice baby: Sneaux Kings came for the sand, but stayed for the snow

Relocating from The Natural State to The Sunshine State, brothers Jeremy and Joshua Neel found their sweet, new calling within the walls of a small trailer along Hwy. 98.

After vacationing in the area since childhood, the brothers decided to pack up and head south to Destin earlier this year to start their new adventure — owning and operating a Snow Ball booth called Sneaux Kings.

Like thousands of people before them, Jeremy and Joshua were drawn to the laidback lifestyle that comes with living on the Emerald Coast. After hiring someone to watch over their company in Arkansas; APEX Restoration and Roofing, they traded in their nail guns and shingles for dozens of bottles of sweet syrup and a 1964 Eismann/Eisemann Shaved Ice Machine.

The brothers initially moved to the area because of their love of the beach, but according to Joshua, somehow they ended up buying a small trailer, painting it in traditional Mardi Gras colors — purple, yellow and green — and opening a Snow Cone stand.

"Our first day of business was April 25," Joshua said. "And we've seen a pretty steady incline every week since then."

Located at 4300 Legendary Drive, Sneaux Kings is open everyday from 3 to 9 p.m. in the parking lot next to Lowe's and Rooms To Go.

The brothers said if they were going to open this new business, they were going to do it the right way, with style — Big Easy-style, with a vintage machine that shaves ice so fine it's like snow.

"Most snow cones are more like crushed ice with syrup poured over the top, eventually all settling in the bottom of the cup instead of mixing with the ice," Joshua said.

With 40 snow ball flavors; everything from banana and blackberry to dreamsicle and strawberry, Joshua said that everyone has their favorite, and his is Home Made Ice Cream, which is also Sneaux Kings best-seller.

"People order Home Made Ice Cream twice as much as other flavors, everyone loves it," said Joshua. Taking the second and third place spots for customer favorites are Tiger's Blood and Wedding Cake, respectively.

Joshua said they have had a lot of requests for a chocolate snow ball, so they indulged their customers, releasing the chocolate snow ball June 14.

Sneaux Kings also offers a unique, Southeastern Conference-inspired menu with flavors named after college teams like the Arkansas Razorbacks, which combines the Tiger's Blood and Wedding Cake and the Georgia Bulldogs that combines strawberry and coconut.

But, don't expect to see Texas A&M or Missouri getting their own flavor anytime soon. The dedicated Razorbacks fans have a sign clearly posted that reads: "Texas A&M and Missouri; Please come back in 2016 when your teams have earned their flavor."

Sneaux Kings offers customers three sizes — small; $3, medium; $4 and large; $5.

Find them online at Facebook.com/SneauxKings or follow them on Twitter, @SneauxKings.