In 1982 I found myself living near and working in Center City Philadelphia,  It was quite a change for someone who had grown up in a small town in the Midwest. My co-workers wanted to share their food culture with me so obviously Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches and the like were on the menu.

One day I was asked if I had tried water ice yet (Philly accent wooder ice).  I didn’t know what it was, but after hearing it described my Midwest experience said “oh a snow cone.” I couldn’t have been more wrong. It was about a week later that I was able to get a serving from a cart vendor (which at the time there were a lot of) and wow! What a great product! So much better than any sno cone ever thought of being. The seed for Barry G’s was planted at that point and the rest was history!