What began as a childhood tradition in New Orleans has grown into a LaGrange business focused on serving authentic snowballs, providing excellent customer service, and creating opportunities for young people.
NOLA Sneauxballs at 223 Commerce Ave recently celebrated seven years at its LaGrange location after officially opening on August 23, 2019.
The story behind the business begins long before that opening day. Owner Ameca Jackson grew up in New Orleans, where stopping for a snowball was simply part of life.
She remembers having a snowball stand within walking distance of her childhood home. Trips there happened after school, on weekends, and sometimes after church on Sundays.
Those memories stayed with her after Hurricane Katrina brought her to Georgia.
Once she settled into her new home, she quickly realized that the type of snowballs she grew up enjoying were difficult to find. Eventually, she purchased her own machine and began making them herself.
Friends quickly encouraged her to take the idea further.
In 2019, Jackson noticed a small abandoned building in LaGrange and immediately saw its potential as a snowball stand. Her husband and business partner, Reginald “Reggie” Jackson, Jr., contacted the property owners, the couple secured a lease, and renovations began.
That building would eventually become NOLA Sneauxballs.
From the beginning, however, the business was about more than serving a frozen treat.
Growing up in New Orleans, Jackson remembered seeing teenagers working at neighborhood snowball stands. She wanted to create that same opportunity for young people in LaGrange.
Reggie was also involved in mentoring youth through a program called Future Shepherds, which made the idea an even more natural fit.
NOLA Sneauxballs primarily employs high school students, often providing them with their first experience in the workforce.
For Jackson, that opportunity comes with a responsibility to teach more than simply how to prepare an order. She teaches business acumen and entrepreneurship to the young people employed at NOLA Sneauxballs, while also helping them build skills in customer service, responsibility, business operations, conflict resolution, and relationship building.
Several former employees have gone on to larger restaurant jobs, with at least two later becoming supervisors.
Knowing that the lessons learned at NOLA Sneauxballs have helped prepare those young people for future opportunities has become one of the most rewarding parts of operating the business.
Her goal, she says, is to provide the kind of customer experience people associate with the restaurant often jokingly referred to as “God’s Chicken.”
That includes quickly resolving customer concerns instead of arguing over a mistake and treating every customer as a person rather than simply an order number.
Employees are encouraged to learn customers’ names and build relationships with those who regularly visit the stand.
That approach comes directly from Jackson’s own childhood experience in New Orleans, where the woman operating her neighborhood snowball stand knew her personally.
Seven years after opening in LaGrange, NOLA Sneauxballs continues serving a menu filled with traditional and creative flavors.
Blue Raspberry remains the most popular choice among customers, followed by flavors including Tiger’s Blood and Granny Smith Apple.
Jackson, however, recommends some of the creamy flavors on the menu, including Creamy Ice Cream, Creamy Wedding Cake, and Creamy Peaches and Cream.
Those flavors combine the light texture of shaved ice with a creamy taste that offers something slightly different from a traditional snowball.
The business is also beginning to expand beyond its longtime seasonal menu.
NOLA Sneauxballs recently introduced another New Orleans favorite, beignets.
Jackson said Reggie had encouraged her to add beignets for quite some time. After finally testing them with customers, she found the response was strong.
She plans to continue offering beignets during the cooler months when customers may be looking for something warm instead of a snowball.
NOLA Sneauxballs will also participate in Taste of the Town in LaGrange on November 7, where the business plans to serve snowballs along with some of its other New Orleans inspired offerings.
The company has also been booking private and corporate events.
Looking further ahead, Jackson has an even larger goal for the NOLA Sneauxballs brand.
She hopes to eventually package the company’s products for grocery stores and other retail locations.
The vision would allow customers to find NOLA Sneauxballs in the freezer section of stores such as Kroger or Publix, making the product available even when the LaGrange stand is closed.
The current location operates seasonally with limited weekly hours, making retail distribution a way for the business to reach customers throughout the week and potentially throughout the year.
For a business that started because one New Orleans native simply missed the snowballs she grew up with, the journey has already stretched much further than originally imagined.
Seven years later, NOLA Sneauxballs continues sharing a piece of New Orleans with LaGrange while Jackson and her husband also help introduce a new generation of young people to the workforce.
NOLA Sneauxballs can be found on Facebook and Instagram at NOLA Sneauxballs GA, with additional content available on TikTok and X.
