What's the Story - Snax
3/30/18 Editor's Note: Snax has now closed due to derelict building conditions.
A new gourmet ice cream and hot dog shop in Everett? Yes, please. We tracked down the owner, Laura Hunter, and asked her a few questions about this new sweet spot in town.
Who are the people behind Snax, and what is Snax all about?
I am the owner of Snax, and Bob is my partner and right hand, both at Snax and in life. Bob has been in the software industry for 30 years and has been amazingly kind and supportive in helping me with Snax. My two daughters are also a big part of the business. My older daughter, Isabelle (she prefers Belle), is learning the ropes behind the counter and is a natural salesperson. My younger daughter, Victoria, is full of helpful ideas and loves to draw art for the customers on the chalk boards.
My background is in real estate and photography so opening Snax is a new and exciting adventure.
I decided to open Snax because I saw a need for a family friendly and high quality place to get a quick bite or a treat in downtown Everett. I had hoped to find a good tenant for the space that had a similar vision. When that didn't happen in a timely manner, I decided to give it a go myself. Neither Bob nor I have ever run a restaurant so this is a fun and educational undertaking for us.
When did you open up shop? What was the inspiration to start this business?
We opened Snax on the 4th of July. When we realized that the Everett 4th of July parade ended right in front of the building we decided to have a soft opening a couple of weeks early to get to know the people in the area before our official grand opening in the first week of August.
My inspiration for Snax was two-fold. First, having two daughters, I saw that there weren't many family friendly places for kids in downtown Everett and I wanted to provide a fun place that my kids would love. I figured that if my kids loved it so would others.
The other inspiration for Snax was the Everett Performing Arts Center and Village Theater, right across the street. I saw that people attending shows didn't have a fun, quick and healthy place to get a snack, quick meal, or drink before shows. I wanted to provide a place that complimented my neighbors, was healthy, and was fun for people of all ages.
Has Snax been an idea you've had for a long time? How long did the planning process take?
I thought of Snax about a year ago and worked on it for about 6 months prior to opening. It was a family-and-friends project and a lot of fun. I got to go pick the wood and barn doors from a barn that was demolished in Skagit county, and my daughter and I built the counter ourselves as a mommy-daughter project.
Along with help from friends, we all worked on paint, plumbing, floors, shopping, and just about everything else. We hand built all of the tables and tried to re-purpose used building materials whenever possible. My daughter, Isabelle, even learned how to use power tools (and she's very good at it).
It's been a really good experience for us, and taught my girls the importance of being socially and environmentally conscious and that starting a businesses is hard work but it really is worth it. It's so awesome to see the look of pride on their faces every time a customer walks in the door and have them be so engaged in the whole project.
How did you come up with the name, Snax?
The name was suggested by a friend when we were brainstorming. We knew we wanted it to be a name that implied what we served and was catchy and fun. It was in the first two choices and we all loved it so it was a very quick meeting.
Who should come try your food and why?
Everyone should come try our food! We offer something for everyone and the quality is the best we can find. Everything we serve is locally sourced. Most items are organic and we stay away from products that use GMOs, fillers, MSG or any other questionable ingredients.
It's really important to us to feel good about what we're serving. We want to support other businesses in our area and provide high quality food that we feel good about feeding our own family. We really do eat the food we serve pretty much every day.
We pride ourselves on the fact that we have something for everyone. In addition to awesome local beef and polish dogs, Big E Ales Root Beer on tap, and Snoqualmie Ice Cream, we have Snoqualmie lactose free sorbet, a gluten free bun option, veggie dogs, and really yummy vegan chili that makes great chili dogs or a meal on it's own.
We also have chalk boards for drawing and playing games and apparently Pokemon love Snax because we keep catching them in the ice cream and on the counter!
You guys specialize in gourmet ice cream and hot dogs; an interesting pairing. How'd you come up with that?
My mom owned a hot dog stand in Redondo Beach, CA, called Poor Richards, when she was young. The hot dog idea seemed like a neat way to honor her memory. She would have loved it.
Apart from that, they just seemed like perfect snack/quick meal foods that are fast and fun and can be made locally with high quality ingredients. They're both comfort foods and I like that our customers can have snacks and meals that have been considered traditionally unhealthy but they're healthy and guilt free at Snax and they taste a lot better too.
Are there any other gourmet ice cream and hot dog shops in existence?
Not that I know of.
Any big plans or changes in sight? Or are you guys steady cruising for now?
We're working on 2 big changes! We have a large space attached to Snax (1800 sq ft) that has an adjacent warehouse (1200 sq ft). Our goal is to partner with a micro brewery, tap house, or winery or possibly split the space between both beer and wine or something similar and offer locally made beer and/or wine.
We also have a space that we'd like to sublet to a coffee stand inside of Snax. Some of the best coffee in the world is roasted in our area and it goes great with ice cream too. We'd love to hear from anyone who is interested in partnering with us.
We'd also love to host a beer festival in the near future.
If you were stranded on Jetty Island and could only have 1 meal from Snax, what would it be?
If I was stranded on Jetty Island and could only have one meal from Snax, it would be a polish dog with sauerkraut, deli mustard, relish, and a lot of secret spicy sauce and a Big E Ales root beer float with Snoqualmie salted caramel ice cream instead of vanilla. A customer ordered the salted caramel float last week and I had to try it. It's honestly the best float I've ever had! I'm never going back to vanilla!
Anything else you'd like to share? Where can people get more info about Snax?
There are two things that we have at Snax that are extra yummy and a lot of fun. First, we have Big E Ales Root Beer on tap! I tried some at a local restaurant and immediately knew we had to have it once we opened Snax.
We also have a spicy secret sauce that I'm addicted to. I may be biased since I make it but I think it's awesome and people really like it. I can't say what all is in it, hence the name, but I can give you a hint...everything's better with bacon!
You can find us on facebook or online at eatatsnax.com
Mention this blog and we'll give you 10% off!
Thanks, Laura! We really appreciate her taking the time to share the down low with you guys. You heard her, too- mention this blog post and get 10% off! Now you really have no excuse to go try that salted caramel root beer float.
Happy snacking,
Garret + Tyler
Everett Advocates + Realtors
