When Sean Stansberry and his wife and Carla moved from New Jersey to Fayetteville, they missed the Philadelphia water ice, a cousin to Italian ice found in the Northeast. This summer, they brought the dessert to Fayetteville, and it blew up more than they ever imagined.
The Stansberrys owns C&S Ice, a mobile food stand that serves the frozen treat made from water, sugar and flavors like pineapple, strawberry and lemon.
Water ice is firmer than a slushy and softer than sorbet.
The most popular offering is a hollowed-out pineapple filled with up to three flavors of water ice and topped with pineapple slices, which starts at $12. For an additional $3, customers can add three toppings like strawberries, blueberries and candies. The treat is also served in a cup, starting at $2 for a kid's scoop up to $8 for six scoops.
The product they sell is legit because the Stansberrys drive to Pennsylvania to procure the prepared tubs from the Philadelphia Ice Water Factory, Stansberry said.
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He said that since opening in June, C&S Ice has gained 2,000 Facebook followers and a parade of loyal customers. Now, they sell about 50 gallons of water ice weekly.
The Stansberrys attribute some of their success to the presentation — a pineapple bowl chock full of brightly colored scoops of water ice, cubes of equally colorful fruit and topped with a paper umbrella is not only attention-grabbing, it's photogenic.
“When we started putting it in pineapples, that’s when we started to get big,” he said.
Carla Stansberry, who cuts the fruit by hand for each order, said once people see the presentation in public or on social media, they want to order the same thing.
"It's big and in-your-face and people like that," she said.
At the Hope Mills Fourth of July celebration — just few weeks into their endeavor —, Sean Stansberry said he realized how successful the business could be. At one point, the line was 80 people deep. They sold about 25 gallons of water ice that day.
“It was like an epiphany,” he said.
That moment was hard-earned — it came after more than a year of various entrepreneurial pursuits.
“We always wanted to get away from the 9-to-5 and start a business together,” Stansberry said.
Last year, the couple started a shipping and logistics business delivering luxury cars along the East Coast. After one of the trucks was damaged, they needed to find a way to pay the bills, he said.
That’s when they saw the opportunity to start the water ice stand with one of the shipping company’s backup vehicles.
The couple said they often talked about opening a water ice stand someday.
They were first introduced to the treat in 2017 when Carla Stansberry was stationed with the Army at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
Two years later, after she'd gotten out of the Army, the couple moved back to Sean Stanberry's hometown of Fayetteville to prepare for the birth of their son, Levi.
Sean Stansberry said his goal is to have a business that affords him more time with his wife and child.
“Family is everything. I’ll do anything I can to be with them,” he said.
The Stansberrys show no signs of slowing down. The pair launched their own online candle company this week, The Unbiased Company, and Carla Stansberry is continuing to work as a real estate agent.
Stansberry said C&S Ice customers can look forward to a big announcement, stopping just short of mentioning what it could be.
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"Huge things are coming soon," he said. "It’ll be something sweet.”
Hours: 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Closed Monday. Varies based on events, check online for updates.
Location: Varies based on events, check online for updates.
On the web: facebook.com/CandSICE and instagram.com/cs.ice
Food, dining and business reporter Taylor Shook can be reached at tshook@gannett.com.