Your name: Elias Gilmore

Your position: Owner

Company name: Old Village Shaved Ice

 

Old Village Shaved Ice was inspired by a family trip to Japan, where I was introduced to kakigori, Japanese shaved ice. I loved how light and fluffy the ice was and how much care went into each bowl. When I was 10, I started experimenting at home with a shaved ice machine from Goodwill and eventually set up a folding table in the neighborhood. Once people started coming back and asking when I would be out again, I realized it could become something much bigger.

Building a business at a young age has meant learning almost everything as I go. Over the past six years, I’ve learned about customer service, marketing, pricing, inventory, hiring employees, and managing equipment. One of the biggest lessons has been that the small details matter. A great product is important, but so is being friendly, remembering customers, and creating an experience that makes people want to come back.

We serve light, fluffy, kakigori-inspired shaved ice with 24 different flavors, ranging from classics like strawberry and watermelon to mango, guava, passion fruit, prickly pear and coconut. Customers can add toppings like popping boba and coconut cream, and we also offer shaved ice served in real coconut bowls.

What really sets us apart is the texture. Our ice is shaved using a machine imported from Japan, creating an extremely fine texture rather than the hard, crunchy style people are used to around here, which gives it the soft, fluffy texture I first loved in Japan. We also carry imported Japanese drinks, including green tea, matcha drinks, BOSS coffee, and water all the way from Mount Fuji!

Our main location is on Pitt Street Bridge in the Old Village, which has really become our home base. We also travel to private parties, school events and community events throughout the Charleston area. Anyone interested in having Old Village Shaved Ice at a party or event can book us directly through the booking page on our website.

Since we’re mobile, our schedule can depend on weather and events, so we post our current locations and updates on Instagram at @oldvillageshavedice. If you're unsure where we are, just DM me!

The community has been one of the best parts of growing the business. A lot of customers have watched Old Village Shaved Ice grow from a folding table, to a cargo bike, and now to a Japanese Subaru Sambar that I converted into a mobile shaved ice shop.

It means a lot when someone tells me they’ve been coming since I first started, or when families make shaved ice part of their walk to Pitt Street Bridge. I want people to leave thinking not only that the shaved ice was really good, but also that they had a friendly experience.

One of my favorite recent moments was serving around 250 bowls at an event at Academic Magnet. Seeing a long line of people waiting for shaved ice is pretty surreal when I think about how small the business started.

I want to continue growing while keeping the community feel that made Old Village Shaved Ice special in the first place. Earlier this summer, I had the opportunity to train at a kakigori shop in Okinawa, Japan, where I learned new techniques and brought home ideas I hope to incorporate into the business.

One thing I’m especially excited about is continuing to improve the menu. We’re considering adding new toppings like mochi and coconut jelly, as well as a matcha syrup made with premium matcha imported from Japan, bringing even more of the kakigori experience that originally inspired the business to Charleston.

I’d also like to attend more events, expand where the van can operate around Charleston, and keep improving the overall experience. I started Old Village Shaved Ice when I was 10, and six years later it has already grown far beyond what I originally imagined.