New Orleans natives bring a taste of their culture to Dallas

Sneaux Nola and The Daiquiri Shoppe bring New Orleans culture to Dallas, preserving identity amid relocation.

DALLAS COUNTY, Texas — It is not just the ice. It is the identity.

“Alright, everybody asks that,” said Kelly Bolding, Sneaux Nola owner.

She was referring to a common question people ask her, “What’s the difference between a snow cone and snowball?”

“The main thing is that the ice is totally different,” Bolding said.

She said snow cones are crunchy.

“It’s like if it’s fresh snow falling from the sky, that’s what a snowball is,” Bolding said.

The snowball is a New Orleans treat that Bolding grew up eating. It’s why she started Sneaux Nola in Cedar Hill.

“My kids, they’ll probably never get the lifestyle and the culture that I did growing up simply because we all relocated to Dallas,” Bolding said.

Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, displacing many residents.

“My original plan was to come here, just pretty much for the weekend, just to get away from the hurricane,” Bolding said.

The deadly hurricane sent roughly 50,000 people to North Texas.

“That was 20 years ago, and here we are now,” Bolding said.

She, like many others, made a point to bring a taste of New Orleans to Dallas. Desean Cagnolatti did the same. He reunited with classmates to open The Daiquiri Shoppe in Grand Prairie.

“If you’ve ever visited New Orleans before at any time, there’s multiple daiquiri shops all over town,” said Cagnolatti, The Daiquiri Shoppe part owner. “Just having a daiquiri in your hand was always a part of the culture, and it was a thing. It’s almost a symbol of the city if you had one.”

New Orleans symbols in Dallas, such as Elmer’s Chee Wees, the Po’Boy, and snowballs are signs of resilience.

“You were abruptly pulled out of your culture and put into another culture and trying to adapt, so seeing them adapt over the years is a great thing,” Cagnolatti said.

Hurricane Katrina might have changed their homes, but it did not change their hope.

“Bring the culture here that way you don’t even have to travel. You can come here, and also other people can get an outlook of how New Orleans culture is,” said Bolding.