GREAT FALLS — With temperatures rising in Great Falls, people are looking for ways to cool off, whether it be a pool or a slip n’ slide. Now, people have another option - the Kona Ice truck.
Kona is a shaved ice company and was brought to town by Stuart and Kyla Anderson. They had been considering it for a while as a family and finally decided to go forward with it.
The tropical-themed truck serves up a variety of flavors, including Watermelon Wave, Island Rush, Ninja Cherry, and Blue Raspberry. The truck also plays steel drum music.
They have only been shaving ice for the community for one week but say it has exceeded their expectations and are glad they got the truck up and running.
Kona was founded in Kentucky and now has more than 1,000 trucks across the country; Kyla said she wanted to bring Kona to where her family is to show it to the community and to spend more time with her family.
She explained, “After everything we’ve been through this last year, we thought it would be fun to do something like Kona Ice, and we’ve gotten a lot of feedback and interaction from the community in our first week."
They keep the truck just outside their pharmacy (Anderson Specialty Pharmacy) during the afternoons, then pack up and drive around to city parks in the evenings. They even have ventured to the town of Fairfield.
Kona really is a family business for the Andersons, as they have their kids working alongside them. Their daughter Mari calls it “her favorite summer job.”
“I had fun babysitting and stuff last summer…but my favorite part is the fact I can share my smile and my joy with other people, even if it’s through a cup of ice,” Mari said.
It hasn’t been long since they got their new business going, but the Andersons see Kona Ice sticking around for a while and keeping Great Falls cool during the summers.
Visit their Facebook page to find out where they will be setting up.
