Beat the Heat with a Sno Cone

It's freaking hot out.  You know what is good for this weather?  Sno cones. You can't have good sno cones without good syrup.  Did you know that one of the biggest suppliers of quality syrups in the world has huge ties to Soulard?  Rio Syrup Company ships its syrups to every state in the U.S. as well as to 20 different countries.  What's the Soulard connection?  The Tomber family started Rio Soda Syrup Company in 1940.  The company originally made syrups mainly to use in carbonated drinks. Think make-your-own-soda.  Then, when the big boys started selling ready-made sodas, the company shifted its focus. Our own Billy Tomber is currently the Operations Manager at Rio Syrup.  Billy is probably the busiest man on the Island between being Editor of the Renaissance, a key member of the Soulard Restoration Group, and running Rio among many other things. Rio makes 250 different syrup flavors according to the website.  All with about five employees.  Rio syrups can be found everywhere from festivals to backyard picnics to major sports stadiums around the country.

Have no fear, you don't have to worry about tracking down a sno cone stand.  You can be your own sno cone artist. Rio currently sells the Home Shaver kit  ,pictured to the right, for home use.  You can buy it with  variety of small bottles of syrup or with just the machine. Additional syrup can be purchased  from the company's headquarters on Chestnut in Downtown St. Louis, the website, Globe Drug, or the trunk of Billy's car.  (I made that last one up, but who knows?)

Get you a sno cone maker today so that you can make your own Peanut Butter & Jelly or Strawberry Cheesecake ice treat.  And no, I didn't make those flavors up.