St. Pete college student scoops success from shaved ice cart, Cool Runnings
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Aiden Leslie with his Cool Runnings cart in St. Pete's North Shore Park. Photo: Yacob Reyes/Axios
Sometime in the afternoon, when the sun’s eased up, Aiden Leslie will pedal a modified tricycle from his apartment in downtown St. Petersburg toward the pier, where people — sweaty and hot — will be waiting for his shaved ice.
Why it matters: Tampa Bay's average summer temperatures are on the rise, and people are looking for ways to cool down.
- "It's getting impossible to be out here," Leslie says.
State of play: Leslie is a college sophomore, and since January, he's also been the owner of a shaved ice cart, Cool Runnings. He named it after a Disney film he is, admittedly, too young to have watched when it aired in 1993.
- The idea for his cart came to him after he saw a shortage of street vending in St. Petersburg — something he had seen a "ton of" in other cities. Florida's hot and humid weather inspired the rest.
The big picture: The region saw record-breaking heat this month.
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's climate outlook for June through August indicates the entire state will experience higher-than-usual temperatures.
Yes, but: The sweat-inducing weather can be good for those in the cold dessert business.
- Amber Gilkes, general manager of The Hyppo — which sells ice pops in Hyde Park — said the heat's helped the shop draw customers. Bo's Ice Cream, the oldest ice cream shop in Tampa, saw a similar sales bump.
- And Leslie, who spent thousands of dollars to launch Cool Runnings, said he's already returned his investment.
The bottom line: "I love having conversations and learning more and more every day about the community," he told Axios. "It's great to serve a product that provides some relief on these summer days."
