WORTH THE DRIVE

A “Sticky Sweet” Summer

No doubt about it, summer is in full swing and, although a day at the pool is always a great way to escape the heat and humidity that comes with the Texas sun, sometimes you just need to indulge your inner child with a sticky, icy dessert.

Sticky Sweet Cups shaved ice trailer is a family affair and when you walk up to order, you feel like you’re part of that family too. “We love to be invited to celebrations, fundraisers and holiday events,” Mary Donica says. “That’s the best part about owning a ‘sugar wagon.’ We get to be a part of people’s memories and that makes our hearts happy. We find that sometimes we bring a nostalgia and trigger memories from childhood. We get to see people from all walks of life—young and old! To bring people together to share a common interest is pretty neat and I have to say, we are the blessed ones.”

NEXT-LEVEL

Every day, Sticky Sweet Cups takes shaved ice to a whole new level of creativity and indulgence. They start with ice that is shaved to create a soft and fluffy texture, which Mary proudly says is really what keeps customers coming back. Or perhaps it’s the ice cream they add to the cone before the flavorings?

It could also be the flavor choices; everything from traditional Cherry and Orange, to Pickle or Zombie-virus. If you’re not sure, you can try three at a time, and there are even a few sugarless options.

Then again, the key might be in adding sprinkles, cotton candy, or chocolate syrup on the top. We recommend channeling your inner mad scientist to be sure.

Mary says her biggest seller is Carole Baskin-tigers blood with cream on top, which she has fondly imprinted from their opening weekend.

“It was Easter 2020, when people were being told to stay home and isolate themselves. It was a scary, sad time and we wanted to bring happiness and joy to our small town.

“Unsure if we should wait to open or not, we just went for it. Tiger King was the thing to watch on TV at this time so we had to include that on the menu.”

Owners Mary and David Donica

ENJOY!

Sticky Sweet Cups is located at 535 HWY 29 between El Rancho and Big’s convenient store. They are open Wednesday through Friday from 2-7pm, as well as on the weekends that they don’t have special events. Their season ends at the end of September, but they are always available for special events. You can follow them on Facebook for updates and message them for any requests. “Our goal is to make people smile. It’s a crazy world we live in, if we can brighten someone’s day with a shaved ice treat then we have succeeded.”