Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Moore.
Hi Karen, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Pre-pandemic, my niece, Kizzy Covington, owner of The Confectionist Factory, would take me with her to her event to help, and I think I caught the bending bug from that point on. I like to think about what I could do to participate. I wanted to become a vendor, too! And then the pandemic happened. Everything shut down. I was Furloughed from work for what I thought was going to be forever, In April 2021 I came up with the idea to sell snowcones. Tim Wiley, A Garland Market host took a chance on me, gave me a prime spot, and my life hasn’t been the same. I live for vending. For handcrafting beverages, the interactions with the customers and vending community is like no other experience on the plant.
Now let me tell you about the name. I have four siblings, all of whom have children, except one, but when any of us get together, and all their children and grandchildren start in with the auntie and uncle, it’s hard to know which uncle or auntie they are addressing, so my great-niece declared (in the middle of the hallway in my home) that going forward I was TT, and everyone else was auntie. The name stuck, and like magic, it was as if I were born TT.
My business model- I only use top-shelf, premium ingredients to make my gourmet beverages. These include but are not limited to gourmet, iced, and hot chocolate specialty coffees, like cold brew, iced coffee, frappe espresso, Flavor Rich slushies, and frozen lemonades with over 50 syrup options, including sugar-free and ket-friendly. All of my drinks are prepared on-site, especially Vince, corporate parties, anniversaries, farmers markets, and at any location in between. I love this, and I often refer to it as my retirement plan when I decide to leave corporate America; I’ll feel right at home in my landing space of TTs Mobile Icehouse.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Nope, no, nada.
1. The permitting process is a nightmare! Every city has a different requirement, which, of course, are different than the requirements for the county in which those cities are located, AND if an event is not in a city or county that has a health department, jurisdiction falls to the state. State House Bill 2878, passed in 2023, was supposed to fix this by making counties responsible for annual permitting, but it only got worse.
2. Events with rain or shine booking terms, bad weather happens, no customers, and no vending refunds.
3. At first, finding events was like a treasure hunt. Social media was a good start, but there were lots of scammers, so doing intensive investigations regarding the host and venue prior to completing applications and paying fees is an absolute must.
4. Imagine driving down the US75 Central Expressway at 70 mph at night. I hit a bump in the road, and my trailer unhitched I saw my entire life in a flash, but somehow, I managed to get off the highway and onto the shoulder without being hit by any of the passing vehicles. I called my trailer guy; he came up to Greyson County, lifted the trailer back onto the hitch, and an hour later, I was on the road again. This life is contagious, and once I was bitten, I never saw life without vending.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a telecom engineer that also attended law school but has never had a desire to sit for the state bar exam. I am an IT professional with a legal background. I’ve worked in government and for some of the largest and most prestigious companies on the planet. I have also worked for start-ups that went on to do great things. All within the IT or legal verticals. A member of the Texas Bar Association,
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Skin as tough as nails, a personality that’s almost magnetic. On vending days, I wake up reminding myself that it’s a glass 1/2 full kinda day. I am a people person. I’ve never met a stranger. My daughter says I could talk to a tree, and somehow that tree would start talking back, branches start swaying as if the conversation included a chuckle or two.
Pricing:
- 16 oz= $5
- 24oz= $6
- 28oz= $7 Fishbowl
- 32oz=$10 It’s a bucket!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.
ttsmobileicehouse.com - Instagram: @ttsmobileicehouse
- Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/profile.php?id= 100000052135842 - Other: @ttsmobileicehouse (tictok)
Image Credits
Kaleb Covington
