ShiverSisters serve up frozen treats

When two Serrano moms team up as business partners to open a shaved ice business out of a vintage 1964 Airstream trailer in El Dorado Hills you know it’s going to be a great summer.

Erin Whiteley and Geneva Soulier wanted to share their favorite summertime treat with the community, while still being able to be moms during the school year. The ShiverSisters were inspired to open their own business when they realized there was no place around El Dorado Hills where high-quality, delicious shaved ice in flavors other than bubblegum could be had.

The two entertained the thought of opening a shack or a shed to sell shaved ice before, Whiteley recalled, “On a flight home from Seattle, I saw a picture of an Airstream and I called Gen and said ‘this is what we want!’”

They searched for an Airstream trailer for sale for six months before finding a ’64 Bambi listed on craigslist in Elk Grove. The bidding war began.

“I was texting Gen back and forth ‘how much can we offer?’,” Whiteley said. After setting down their highest bid, Whiteley and Soulier won the trailer by $100. It had been sitting in a field for the past 30 years and was badly in need of repair.

“We thought we could restore it ourselves, but five minutes into it on a Saturday we knew we had to call professionals,” said Soulier. Now that the shiny silver trailer is fixed up, it’s become the ShiverSisters’ unofficial icon. “It’s more original than a shack,” Whiteley said.

Whiteley and Soulier have been serving shaved ice for the past three summers at events and at schools, but officially opened a permanent location for their business on May 26.

“It’s a good place for people in the community and kids can come and have a good treat,” said Soulier, who explained that she has loved shaved ice since she was 5 years old and craved snow cones from her toy Snoopy Sno Cone machine. Whiteley developed a love for the treat on a trip to Hawaii, adding, “It’s better for you than donuts.”

Shaved ice is not just a kid’s treat. Adults will enjoy the 26 flavors available to choose from, with clever combinations and bold names. “Tiger’s Blood” — a mixture of strawberry, watermelon and coconut — is their most popular flavor. The ShiverSisters put a scoop of ice cream in the bottom of the cup and a high-quality organic cream mixture on the top. They use the best ingredients they can find, including real sugar and fluffy ice. A sugar-free option is also available in any of the flavors. You can choose to try one flavor, or mix any flavors you want.

“I always think it’s weird when a kid orders banana and root beer,” Whiteley said.

And Soulier advised that the best cure for a brain freeze is to press your tongue up to the roof of your mouth, and rub it until the feeling goes away.

The ShiverSisters’ Airstream trailer will be at 1091 White Rock Road and open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day except Sundays during the summer. On their website, shiversisters.com, is a link to their Twitter account where they post special passwords for free treats as well as additional information about events and deals.