BIZ BUZZ
SWEETCLAWLEVELSUP NOSTALGIC CONCEPT FOR FAMILY FUN
TAYLOR — A new, family-friendly venue in town combines the excitement of an arcade with the wholesomeness of an old-fashioned ice cream parlor.
Sweet Claw Ice Cream and Claw Machine Shop, 417 N. Main St., Suite A, opened Sept. 12 to sugarand- adrenaline-fueled accolades from customers of all ages.
The business concept was developed by the Hobble family. They came up with Sweet Claw, a place where families can sit and linger over their favorite ice cream and enjoy the neon allure of winning prizes on the claw machines, also known as crane machines.
“My children are entrepreneurs by spirit and the thing that they wanted to do is to develop a business for the family and for the community right here,” said co-owner Mike Hobble. “And they wanted that perfect blend so that they could bring their children up into the business and at the same time offer something really good for the community.”
Hobble is joined in the venture with wife Shareasa, son Steven and his wife, Lacy, and son Shawn with wife Suzanne.
Claw machines – the games where you maneuver a claw to drop over a prize, then hope the prize is captured by the claw when it comes up – are trending nationwide.
Sweet Claw shakes it up with a system that allows players to trade in smaller prizes for points toward larger toys and games including big licensedcharacter plushies. The shop has more than 50 machines appealing to every age group.
Blue Bell ice cream, made in Texas, is delivered weekly to the shop directly from the factory. The owners said there are some flavors available at Sweet Claw that cannot be bought in local grocery stores.
Other snacks and beverages are also available for sale.
Birthday party packages include ice cream and game cards for the participants. A two-hour birthday party can be booked for as few as seven guests, and families can bring their own cake to the event.
The shop is located just across the street from Heritage Park, making it a perfect stopover after visiting the splash pad, play area, skate park or Saturday farmer’s market, the owners said.
“It’s so important, just being part of the community and being involved with the public schools, with the sports, with activities reviving the downtown area,” Hobble said. “There’s already some good activity here, but if we can keep nurturing this and get more businesses like this that are familyrelated in downtown, I think it’s going to be a great place for everyone.”
Lacy Hobble said they continue to explore ways to tailor Sweet Claw to the community. An interior mural is full of characters suggested by customers. The Hobbles are working on requests for dairy-free ice cream in addition to gluten-free options.
“Right now, it’s about trying to think of great things we can incorporate into this, because there is no limit on what we can do, just as long as we’re creative,” she said.
Sweet Claw is open from noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Birthday parties can be booked online.
SWEET CLAW ICE CREAM AND CLAW MACHINE SHOP
417 N. Main St., Suite A, Taylor For more, visit Sweetclawicecream.com, email [email protected], facebook.com/ sweetclawicecream or call 737-420-1800.
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