After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Ameca Williams packed up her belongings and moved from New Orleans to Georgia. Now, she’s bringing the bayou’s traditional desert to the community through her new business, Nola Sneauxballs. 

“I grew up on sno-balls,” Williams said. “In New Orleans, sno-balls is something you get as a treat after school, especially on the weekends. When I moved here and I wasn’t able to find a sno-ball stand anywhere, I went ahead and bought a little sno-ball machine for my house.”

Williams would make sno-balls for her friends and family. She said that when her job at the time would have a work event she would also make them for co-workers. 

“Everybody would always tell me ‘you need to do a sno-ball stand, you need to bring it here,’” Willaims said. “I met Reggie Jackson, who’s my fiancé, moved to Hogansville and then I saw this building and told him this would be a perfect building for a sno-ball stand because it reminds me of how they are at home.” 

The New Orleans sno-ball is made of finely shaved ice and flavored syrup. Williams said they are commonly confused with the snow cone and that the ice of a sno-ball is fine and fluffy, while a snow cone’s ice is coarse and crunchy. 

“Everybody will call it a snow cone or say it’s an icee,” Williams said. “I will always correct people because they [snow cones] are not a part of the royal Sno-ball family. They are a member, but not part of the royal family.”

All of the ingredients even down to the machine was flown to LaGrange from New Orleans to give customers that authentic Big Easy experience. 

“I am so excited, because it is not a popular desert treat out here,” Williams said. “They have popsicles and snow cones. I am super excited to show people what a sno-ball really is.”  

Williams said when she was growing up as a kid, she remembered distinctly having blue and purple colored lips from all the sno-balls. 

“Those are the memories I have growing up in New Orleans, and I want to create those same memories for the people here in LaGrange,” Williams said. 

Williams and Jackson also operate a non-profit in Hogansville called Future Shepards that aims to teach underprivileged youth in Troup County, business literacy skills.

“The kids in our non-profit organization will help out too,” Williams said. “This is an opportunity for them to get work experience and learn how to serve customers.”

Nola Sneauxballs is located at 223 Commerce Ave in the shopping plaza and features more than 60 flavors of sno-balls.