In 1936, in the shadows of the Great Depression, a New Orleans neighborhood grocer was struggling to keep his business afloat. Noticing a gathering of customers at a nearby snow cone business, George J. Ortolano, son of Sicilian immigrants, was inspired to add this inexpensive delicious treat to his business. George, however, was resolved to create a machine that would produce a fine, fluffy snow, similar to that made with blocks of ice and a hand ice shaver. George's simple but ingenious 
machine transformed blocks of ice used in the household icebox into mounds of delicate snow-like flakes, unlike the hard, crunchy ice from a snow cone machine. Assisting George in promoting his innovative enterprise was his wife, Josie. She experimented using the assortment of extracts and flavorings in their grocery store to create new and unusual flavors for George's magic snow. Combining them with cream, "Mrs. O" soon became known as the "Queen of Cream" and the mother of famous New Orleans best-sellers including Nectar Cream, Ice Cream and chocolate cream snowballs.
The tradition of the Big Easy continues today with the opening of Big Easy Snowballs on North Monroe Street in the heart of Midtown Tallahassee. Big Easy Snowballs has something for everyone with 44 different flavors, including succulent cream flavors and sugar free varieties. The specialty of the house is a "stuffed" snowball - a regular snowball in any flavor stuffed in the middle with French Vanilla soft serve ice cream. Come in to Big Easy Snowballs, get "stuffed" and be happy! Your stomach and your wallet will thank you.
