Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Fry.
Hi Heather, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My family and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity of living on the island of O’ahu in Hawaii when our children were young. While there, we fell in love with Hawaiian shave ice. Several years later, in an effort to offset rising medical expenses for our children (type 1 diabetes, severe recurrent asthma, and celiac disease), we purchased a shave ice company that our children worked for and had some ownership of.
After the first season of owning and successfully running our shave ice company, we, again, enjoyed another moving opportunity to Francis, Utah, twenty minutes east of Park City. Through a series of assorted events, we ended up bringing our shave ice company (Huli Boys Shave Ice) and combining it with a soda company (Uinta Soda Company), and The Shack in Kamas was born.
After buying out the soda company owners, deciding to be open year-round, adding a variety of fruity waters, gourmet hot chocolates, sandwiches, muffins, and fresh-baked treats, I, with my husband’s help, created a community gathering place for tasty treats, kindness, and smiles.
Keeping The Shack up and running during Covid-19, supply chain difficulties, and employee shortages hasn’t been easy. Five other restaurants in our community closed over the last two years. We are so grateful for the undying support of our local community and the travelers who stop in to see what we are all about.
Every summer, the grass greens, the creek babbles, and kids squeal while individuals and families come to relax, enjoy some shave ice or a soda, discovering a little slice of heaven in the Kamas Valley.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
We opened our doors for business in May 2018. After closing down at the end of the summer shave ice season, I realized I wasn’t a big fan of a seasonal business.
We reopened in May 2019 in the Kamas Valley. Adding to our menu enabled us to be open year-round. Being open year-round was difficult and I had some winter days when I only had one customer. But, little did I know, being open through the winter was worth the investment of time as Covid-19 descended upon the nation and our community.
We closed for three weeks in March/April of 2020, trying to figure out our kids, remote learning, and new county health department rules. Fortunately, we possessed a drive-through window – the only one in town. We were able to open The Shack to the community – becoming a destination for vehicles full of weary staying-at-home kids and adults.
A blessing and a curse, we became so busy we began running out of product due to our high volume of customers. Supplies were difficult to acquire; our supplier said we were too small of a business to deliver to; cash flow was thrown out of balance. We are grateful we found our equilibrium.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I graduated from Brigham Young University with my degree in English Secondary Education. Being married and blessed with the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom, I worked at my motherhood craft for 22 years. While raising my three children, I studied a variety of different mediums: Writing, photography, preschool teaching and curriculum creation, gluten-free and allergy-sensitive baking, at-home medical caregiver, concert pianist supporter, licensed soccer and basketball coach, PTO treasurer.
Everything I involved myself with, leading up to owning and managing The Shack, involved study, research, and teaching. Each one of these developed skills prepared me to open my business. Running The Shack, I daily engage in study, research, and teaching.
The Shack Facebook page states: The Shack, located in the beautiful Kamas Valley, is sharing its warmth and aloha year-round, serving: mixed sodas, fruit-infused waters, Hawaiian shave ice (May-Sept.), sandwiches, desserts, and gourmet hot cocoa. Gluten-free available. Our Shack motto is: Saving the World One Soda and Shave Ice at a Time! This is what we do.
I take great pride in my “shackies,” my employees. I’ve been fortunate to have a few fellow mamas work with me during school hours, but I possess an incredible crew of after-school and evening high school-aged employees. I teach these shackies to look customers in the eye, face customers when talking, ask customers how they are doing and listen to the customer’s responses.
I teach my shackies to be purposeful when making a drink or a shave. I do my best to empower my shackies with open communication, providing a positive workplace with an “aloha” vibe, and trusting them to run The Shack in my absence. And I always share with my shackies the positive comments made about them to me from our customers.
Our Shack mission has evolved over the last several years, beginning as a fund maker for our children’s medical expenses to now providing employment for high schoolers, who primarily are acquiring their first job, in an effort to teach them essential life skills learned in the workplace and while serving their community. We hope to expand this mission to provide free summer classes on resume building, maintaining personal finances, and interviewing do’s and don’ts.
Owning a small business in a small community also affords unusual and positive elements I never expected. Community members ask almost daily how business is and I often feel that every local customer is sharing in our success. Additionally, The Shack has the opportunity to support the community through sponsoring city events, school events, and teams fundraisers, “Juli’s Day at The Shack,” and the sharing of gift cards and Shack swag.
I even take personal pride in our community. Our Kamas Valley customers are patient with training shackies, supply shortages, and price increases. Our customers are kind, ask us how we are doing, and I almost daily witness an act of kindness at The Shack.
Lastly, we are a family business – anyone who works at The Shack or frequents The Shack is family. But I’m especially grateful to my children who work at The Shack and support me as a mom and businesswoman, and my husband who tirelessly keeps all things financial in order.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
If I thought long and hard about “luck,” I would probably determine luck hasn’t usually been on my side. However, life is what you make of it. I can choose to be a victim of circumstance or I can hoist up my knickers and get to work, making the most of a situation or making a situation better.
Ultimately, I would say I’ve been the recipient of incredible kindness, in life and in business. Different people at different times in my life have shown me more kindness than I could ever repay. I have studied and learned from the kindness of others, attempting to pay kindness forward to those I come across on my journey.
What goes around truly comes around: Kindness is the perfect gift to give and receive.
Contact Info:
- Email: theshack.kamas@gmail.com
- Website: Coming soon!
- Instagram: @theshack.kamas
- Facebook: @theshack.kamas
