New Gate City shaved ice stand opens to help people beat the heat

POCATELLO — A new shaved ice stand has opened in The Gate City as a way to help people stay cool and beat the heat.

Dan Leary, owner of Chilled Vibes, said the stand has a retro, 1970s feel to it. He officially opened the family-run business on June 7.

"Me and my girlfriend and her kids are the ones that run it," he said. "We thought it would be a good way to beat the heat and have something cool and refreshing."

Leary and his family opened the stand to give people more options when they want shaved ice. He said they are always located in the parking lot across from McKee's in Pocatello, 245 Yellowstone Ave.

"We're at the same location seven days a week," he said. "People don't have to search for us."

Chilled Vibes features a large variety of flavors. They have traditional shaved ice flavors such as tiger's blood and blue raspberry and other unique flavors such as habanero.

"We have 66 flavors," Leary said. "Fourteen are sugar free. We have a wide variety."

Leary got the idea to open Chilled Vibes last year after he and his family were driving around the Pocatello and Chubbuck area looking for shaved ice stands. They were only able to find one shaved ice stand.

"I thought that's not acceptable," he said. "Growing up in Pocatello, they were all over the place."

Leary said even with Chilled Vibes, there still aren't very many places where people in the Pocatello and Chubbuck area can go to get shaved ice.

"There's us and one in Chubbuck that's a different one from last year," he said.

Chilled Vibes has been fairly successful so far. People are just starting to realize that they are there and they are showing interest in their flavors.

"It's been a pretty good success so far," Leary said. "It's been crazy."

Leary said the two most popular flavors so far are tiger's blood and blue raspberry.

"Those are absolutely the most popular," he said. "We have a flavor called the roaring raspberry that's a combination of the two."

Leary said the best part about running Chilled Vibes so far is interacting with the customers. He especially enjoys seeing the reactions from the young children when they get their shaved ice.

"When the kids see the flavors and seeing their faces when they get their shaved ice has been awesome," he said.

More information can be found on their website at chilledvibespocatello.com .