If you’re looking for something new and different to tantalize your taste buds and cool you off in the summer heat, try some shaved snow at Flurries, 5950 Corporate Avenue, Cypress, CA 90630. You will not only enjoy a refreshing, light, flavorful Asian dessert, you will also help serve the local and global community as profits go to such missions work as funding a school for orphans in Africa, providing disaster relief for tsunami survivors in Japan, and feeding the homeless in Long Beach.
I made a trip there in April, about a week after it opened, and was not disappointed. Of course I knew what shaved ice was but had never heard about shaved snow until I heard about Flurries. At the recommendation of my niece and nephew who work there, I tried the Salted Mocha.
Cut into a sheet (not ground into powder like shaved ice)—like a long wood-shaving--by a special machine that shaves it from a frozen, disc-shaped, milk-flavored block, the “snow” was placed into a large white paper container along with bits of salty pretzels and sweet chocolate, drizzled with coffee and vanilla sauces, and finished with sea salt crystals. I was advised to eat from the top down so that I would have toppings and sauces in every bite instead of having just snow at the bottom at the end. The flavored snow with the sweet and salty flavors made a very tasty, one-of-a-kind mid-afternoon snack.
I first heard about the idea for this store in 2009 from Barry Deguchi, the Lead Pastor of Catalyst Christian Community in Long Beach (a church plant of Cerritos Baptist Church) and an Advisory Board member of Iwa. He first approached me about it in August at the wedding he was officiating for my nephew, Damon Gohata, who was on staff at Catalyst as the Youth Ministry Director.
He said, “I want to pick your brain” about a new thing his church was thinking about doing. I really wondered what he thought was in my head that could be of any help to him and his church. So we set up a meeting in September.
When Barry shared with me the new venture he and his church were exploring, I was impressed with how he and his church were willing to try something no other church I knew of has tried. They were thinking outside of the box, willing to take a risk, venturing into the unknown, and blazing a path that other churches could follow—all to pursue what must be a passion of theirs (why else would they go to all the trouble?). They wanted to fund their church’s missions projects through the profits gained from a business they would create. And the business they were thinking of was something like Yogurtland because they had a church member who had a lot of experience running successful restaurants or food establishments.
And what Barry wanted me to do was to put on my lawyer’s hat, as well as draw on my non-profit organizational director’s experience, and provide any insight and advice that came to mind. I don’t think I was much help because my legal experience was in community poverty law, not business. And I knew of no churches or non-profit organizations that had tried anything similar. But I did know someone who I thought would know a lot more than me about these things, and who was well-networked. So I set up an appointment for us to pick the brain of none other than Bill Watanabe, Founder and Executive Director of Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC).
We met with Bill in his office at LTSC, and he was about as helpful as I was (okay, maybe just a little more). He expressed concern about whether or not the church should use money donated by its members to fund a risky business venture. And he referred Barry to a lawyer-friend who could provide some legal insight.
But the meeting turned out to have an unexpected benefit. As we passed through the plaza of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center on our way to lunch on First Street, we stopped at a plaque that commemorated the Azusa Street Revival. Right in the heart of Little Tokyo was the place where the Pentecostal Movement began.
I believe that Bill was instrumental in getting that plaque placed. And I know that he had been working more recently with a committee to have something more there than a plaque to mark the place where such a historical event took place—such as a mural on the wall that aligns the actual Azusa Street (now just an alleyway). For some reason, it couldn’t get done.
For Barry, the stop must have been a significant moment. I learned from my nephew, Damon, that not long after that, Barry took the whole Catalyst staff to see the plaque with Bill, and had Bill lead them in a prayer at the site. What connection does this have with Flurries? I’m not sure.
I’m guessing that among other things they were praying that God would pour out His Spirit on Little Tokyo and the Japanese American community, and that a revival would take place bringing many to Christ. But in any case, perhaps one of the outcomes of that prayer was the successful creation of their missions-funding eatery.
I don’t know when the idea for the store changed from frozen yogurt to shaved snow. But I do know that someone got the idea after discovering that a few restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley were offering this new dessert that originated in Taiwan. And people as far away as Orange County were traveling up there just to eat it. Frozen yogurt shops are a dime a dozen. But shaved snow? Perhaps it’s the next big thing. So to their credit, they took a chance on it.
The difference between the shaved snow of Flurries and the shaved snow of other places is the fusion of cultures. It’s Asian with an American twist. The Flurries recipes for the flavored blocks of ice are the creation of Sansei, Ralph Ono. And the sauces, toppings, and dishes have all been developed through trial and error by a team of other Asian Americans. So they’ve come up with flavors like Green Tea Tiramisu, Orange Creamsicle, and French Toast with Bacon—not the kind of flavors you would look for at a Taiwanese restaurant, or a shaved snow bar for that matter.
I like the idea of supporting missions work, and of contributing to the development of young adult employees (like my niece and nephew who are college students getting valuable experience in the working world), through my enjoyment of tasty, refreshing desserts that I can’t get anywhere else. To highlight the fact that all the profits go to special causes to bring positive change to the community and world around them, the store has framed pictures of Catalyst’s missions projects in Japan, Cambodia, Mexico, and Africa displayed on shelves along one wall.
I heard that funding for Flurries came, not from the coffers of Catalyst, but from several church members who personally invested their own funds without any expectation of a return on their investment, and thus assumed all the risk. I was glad to hear that they found a way to address the concern about the church entering into a risky business venture.
So could missions-supporting businesses like Flurries be the wave of future for churches in the Japanese- and Asian American community? God only knows. But it’s innovative, forward-thinking, and gutsy—something to keep tabs on and support if possible.
Putting on my Iwa hat, I’m thinking that this shaved snow bar could be a great place of first contact for the church with Asian Americans and others who would not ordinarily set foot in a church. If they become regular customers, perhaps they might take interest in more than the shaved snow—e.g., the missions work or the reason why a church would want to create a business like that.
It’s not quite a place like The Fish (see my recent blog about that) where seekers could experience the real and living Christ in the context of a community of people who know Him. But there is exposure to Him there. And who knows what could happen if it becomes a popular hangout place for both those who know Him and those who don’t?
So in the meantime, I’m going to drop by the store whenever I can—which could be often since it’s literally right down the street from my sister’s house. And I’m going to try as many of the flavors as I can. And why not make a special trip to see it and experience it for yourself? Green Tea + Strawberries anyone?
If you enjoyed reading this blog, please let other people in your network know about it. Thanks!
If you'd like to go to the Flurries website, click here.
To go back to the video and slideshow, click here.
And here's a map to show you where Flurries is:
I made a trip there in April, about a week after it opened, and was not disappointed. Of course I knew what shaved ice was but had never heard about shaved snow until I heard about Flurries. At the recommendation of my niece and nephew who work there, I tried the Salted Mocha.
Cut into a sheet (not ground into powder like shaved ice)—like a long wood-shaving--by a special machine that shaves it from a frozen, disc-shaped, milk-flavored block, the “snow” was placed into a large white paper container along with bits of salty pretzels and sweet chocolate, drizzled with coffee and vanilla sauces, and finished with sea salt crystals. I was advised to eat from the top down so that I would have toppings and sauces in every bite instead of having just snow at the bottom at the end. The flavored snow with the sweet and salty flavors made a very tasty, one-of-a-kind mid-afternoon snack.
I first heard about the idea for this store in 2009 from Barry Deguchi, the Lead Pastor of Catalyst Christian Community in Long Beach (a church plant of Cerritos Baptist Church) and an Advisory Board member of Iwa. He first approached me about it in August at the wedding he was officiating for my nephew, Damon Gohata, who was on staff at Catalyst as the Youth Ministry Director.
He said, “I want to pick your brain” about a new thing his church was thinking about doing. I really wondered what he thought was in my head that could be of any help to him and his church. So we set up a meeting in September.
When Barry shared with me the new venture he and his church were exploring, I was impressed with how he and his church were willing to try something no other church I knew of has tried. They were thinking outside of the box, willing to take a risk, venturing into the unknown, and blazing a path that other churches could follow—all to pursue what must be a passion of theirs (why else would they go to all the trouble?). They wanted to fund their church’s missions projects through the profits gained from a business they would create. And the business they were thinking of was something like Yogurtland because they had a church member who had a lot of experience running successful restaurants or food establishments.
And what Barry wanted me to do was to put on my lawyer’s hat, as well as draw on my non-profit organizational director’s experience, and provide any insight and advice that came to mind. I don’t think I was much help because my legal experience was in community poverty law, not business. And I knew of no churches or non-profit organizations that had tried anything similar. But I did know someone who I thought would know a lot more than me about these things, and who was well-networked. So I set up an appointment for us to pick the brain of none other than Bill Watanabe, Founder and Executive Director of Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC).
We met with Bill in his office at LTSC, and he was about as helpful as I was (okay, maybe just a little more). He expressed concern about whether or not the church should use money donated by its members to fund a risky business venture. And he referred Barry to a lawyer-friend who could provide some legal insight.
But the meeting turned out to have an unexpected benefit. As we passed through the plaza of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center on our way to lunch on First Street, we stopped at a plaque that commemorated the Azusa Street Revival. Right in the heart of Little Tokyo was the place where the Pentecostal Movement began.
I believe that Bill was instrumental in getting that plaque placed. And I know that he had been working more recently with a committee to have something more there than a plaque to mark the place where such a historical event took place—such as a mural on the wall that aligns the actual Azusa Street (now just an alleyway). For some reason, it couldn’t get done.
For Barry, the stop must have been a significant moment. I learned from my nephew, Damon, that not long after that, Barry took the whole Catalyst staff to see the plaque with Bill, and had Bill lead them in a prayer at the site. What connection does this have with Flurries? I’m not sure.
I’m guessing that among other things they were praying that God would pour out His Spirit on Little Tokyo and the Japanese American community, and that a revival would take place bringing many to Christ. But in any case, perhaps one of the outcomes of that prayer was the successful creation of their missions-funding eatery.
I don’t know when the idea for the store changed from frozen yogurt to shaved snow. But I do know that someone got the idea after discovering that a few restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley were offering this new dessert that originated in Taiwan. And people as far away as Orange County were traveling up there just to eat it. Frozen yogurt shops are a dime a dozen. But shaved snow? Perhaps it’s the next big thing. So to their credit, they took a chance on it.
The difference between the shaved snow of Flurries and the shaved snow of other places is the fusion of cultures. It’s Asian with an American twist. The Flurries recipes for the flavored blocks of ice are the creation of Sansei, Ralph Ono. And the sauces, toppings, and dishes have all been developed through trial and error by a team of other Asian Americans. So they’ve come up with flavors like Green Tea Tiramisu, Orange Creamsicle, and French Toast with Bacon—not the kind of flavors you would look for at a Taiwanese restaurant, or a shaved snow bar for that matter.
I like the idea of supporting missions work, and of contributing to the development of young adult employees (like my niece and nephew who are college students getting valuable experience in the working world), through my enjoyment of tasty, refreshing desserts that I can’t get anywhere else. To highlight the fact that all the profits go to special causes to bring positive change to the community and world around them, the store has framed pictures of Catalyst’s missions projects in Japan, Cambodia, Mexico, and Africa displayed on shelves along one wall.
I heard that funding for Flurries came, not from the coffers of Catalyst, but from several church members who personally invested their own funds without any expectation of a return on their investment, and thus assumed all the risk. I was glad to hear that they found a way to address the concern about the church entering into a risky business venture.
So could missions-supporting businesses like Flurries be the wave of future for churches in the Japanese- and Asian American community? God only knows. But it’s innovative, forward-thinking, and gutsy—something to keep tabs on and support if possible.
Putting on my Iwa hat, I’m thinking that this shaved snow bar could be a great place of first contact for the church with Asian Americans and others who would not ordinarily set foot in a church. If they become regular customers, perhaps they might take interest in more than the shaved snow—e.g., the missions work or the reason why a church would want to create a business like that.
It’s not quite a place like The Fish (see my recent blog about that) where seekers could experience the real and living Christ in the context of a community of people who know Him. But there is exposure to Him there. And who knows what could happen if it becomes a popular hangout place for both those who know Him and those who don’t?
So in the meantime, I’m going to drop by the store whenever I can—which could be often since it’s literally right down the street from my sister’s house. And I’m going to try as many of the flavors as I can. And why not make a special trip to see it and experience it for yourself? Green Tea + Strawberries anyone?
If you enjoyed reading this blog, please let other people in your network know about it. Thanks!
If you'd like to go to the Flurries website, click here.
To go back to the video and slideshow, click here.
And here's a map to show you where Flurries is:
New Menu as of 6/15/12
Out: Oatmeal Raisin and Green Tea Tiramisu
In: Berry Berry Parfait, Strawberry Pie, and Halo Halo
Out: Oatmeal Raisin and Green Tea Tiramisu
In: Berry Berry Parfait, Strawberry Pie, and Halo Halo
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