Sweet NOLA Snoballs Brings a Big Easy Favorite to the Mile High

After spending nearly two decades living in New Orleans, Lara Stepneski-Mintz decided to return home to Denver — but she wanted to bring a taste of the Big Easy back with her.

Her new venture, Sweet NOLA Snoballs, recently debuted inside the Jersey Shopettes during the annual Taste of Mayfair event. “We opened [on Wednesday, September 11] and by Friday night we had sold out of ice," Stepneski-Mintz says. "We were nonstop from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. last Sunday. It felt really good to see everyone enjoying their snoballs and walking away happy. It was a really fun experience.”

Most important to Stepneski-Mintz is making sure her snoballs are authentic. Unlike the chunkier snow cones many are familiar with, snoballs are finely shaved ice that absorbs syrups like a sponge. She makes all her frozen treats using a Sno Wizard, a specialty snoball-making machine flown in straight from New Orleans that shaves a block of ice down into a snow-like texture. She also uses concentrates sourced directly from the Big Easy. More than thirty flavors are available including classics like Tiger’s Blood (a combination of strawberry and coconut), watermelon and cherry as well as less common offerings such as margarita and wedding cake.

“My favorite, and I think the most popular in New Orleans, is the Nectar. It’s a combination of peach, vanilla, almond and honey, and we top it off with some sweetened condensed milk,” Stepneski-Mintz says. “We've had a lot of people with New Orleans and Louisiana connections coming in who are really excited that we’re here.”
The shop also carries seasonal specials and is currently offering limited-time fall flavors like pumpkin spice latte (adorned with whipped cream and candy corn) and caramel apple (a combination of green apple and ice cream-flavored syrup topped with a drizzle of caramel sauce).

Before launching Sweet NOLA, Stepneski-Mintz honed her snoball-making skills by spending a day at a friend’s snoball stand in New Orleans where she learned the ropes and tasted all the flavors. Initially considering a food truck, Stepneski-Mintz eventually decided she wanted a brick-and-mortar location that felt connected to the community.

“When this place finally popped up about fifteen months ago, I jumped on it and signed the lease and everything just worked out. It's close to my house and it’s in a really walkable neighborhood with Mayfair Park right across the street, plus other restaurants next door,” says Stepneski-Mintz. “Snoballs are like a little lagniappe, which is a word that's widely used in New Orleans and is French for ‘a little bit extra.’ That’s what snoballs are, a little something extra for after dinner or when you walk through the park, it just puts a smile on your face.”

Community involvement is central to Stepneski-Mintz’s vision. She’s already had local schools and organizations reach out for collaborations and she’s eager to partner with them. She’s also considering bringing students in for internships and helping them learn what it’s like to run a small business.

The dessert shop is a departure from Stepneski-Mintz’s previous career as a wedding coordinator. This is, she admits, a whole new (sno)ball game, but she's excited to make connections with customers and bring a piece of New Orleans to Denver.

“I went down to New Orleans for school. I did my undergrad and graduate programs at Tulane. Now, seventeen years and two kids later, it’s exciting to be back home," she concludes.

Sweet NOLA Snoballs is located at 916 Jersey Street and is open from 2 to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. For more information, visit sweetnolasnoballs.com.