CSUN alumna Kristin Roskowick married college sweetheart Patrick Roskowick in 2003 and traveled to Hawaii for their honeymoon.
She said one experience she remembered was tasting shaved ice.
“It’s huge in Hawaii, shaved ice in Hawaii is like frozen yogurt here,” Kristin said.
She said it reminded them of the 50/50 bars, half orange sorbet, half vanilla ice cream bars, and the two loved it.
Seven years later, Kristin and Patrick co-founded Get Shaved, a shaved ice shop that offers an array of flavors, ranging from Monkey Brains to Macadamia Nut. They also offer milk shakes, ice cream, and ice cream cookies made with Snookie’s Cookies.
“I always wanted to open a business, but I didn’t know what exactly,” Kristin said.
She said she worked full-time to pay her way through college so she could secure a job afterward.
After graduating with a degree in economics, she said she worked her way up the corporate ladder in the transportation industry, but decided to leave because of the high-stress environment.
“I loved my bosses, I was making lots of money, but it wasn’t worth it for me,” Kristin said.
One day in 2007, she came home in tears after a stressful day at work. She and Patrick started brainstorming different business ideas, ranging from dance wear to dessert.
A self-proclaimed frozen dessert fanatic, Kristin said they thought about venturing into the yogurt industry, but all the Pinkberry competitors like Yogurtland and Menchies were already in business.
She said they wanted to create something affordable, “a place where a family of four can spend $8 and have a satisfying dessert, which is pretty rare.”
Another possible business idea they thought of was shaved ice.
After the brainstorming, the couple bought a home shaver and started experimenting with different flavors.
“We just knew, whatever we did, we had to be passionate about it,” Patrick said.
In 2008, they took out a loan to purchase a food truck to test their business.
“The truck was less of a risk, we could do events and festivals,” Kristin said. “We also did it because we didn’t have the money to do a store, which was the ultimate goal.”
In March 2010, Kristin was looking for a warehouse on Reseda Boulevard when she saw a small store available. Two months later, they opened Get Shaved.
Kristin said they used their savings to buy a business instead of a home. She estimates they have invested at least $170,000 into their business.
“Where it has evolved to now, we never imagined that,” Patrick said. “And this was before the Twitter, Facebook, and food truck explosion.”
Kristin said the business is busier than either had anticipated. She said everything is made to order and takes a little longer to make.
“To us, quality is more important than quantity,” she said. “We want to appeal to those who love the product and those who haven’t tried it before.”
Emmille Tubadeza, an 18-year-old freshman at College of the Canyons, found out about the shop through one of her best friends, who became one of the employees.
Tubadeza said she has been coming to the shop at least three times a month since opening day.
“Even if it’s a small shop, it’s a good place to go because of social atmosphere,” Tubadeza said. “There are so many friendly people.”
Kristin said a lot of CSUN students, fraternities and sororities host fundraisers at Get Shaved.
“We always want to give back to the community,” she said. “It has to be something we are passionate about.”
