We had the good fortune of connecting with Dan Silveira and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dan, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Ahn-yeong-haseyo, that’s Hello in Korean, and welcome to Sweet Snow. My name is Dan and Sweet Snow is home to some Traditional Korean and Asian Desserts, with an American twist of course. My family and I previously lived in South Korea and we decided to bring some Korean heritage and culture to Goodyear. Some of our Desserts are very popular street foods in Korea and Asia. So our desire was to share this with our local community and so along with my 2 adult children we opened Sweet Snow in December 2020.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

Well I have always had a drive for business and success. When I was 17 I joined the military and setoff on my adventure. I met my wife in Korea and we served all over the world. Over my 23 year military career, I was able to experience different food, cultures and not to mention I learned discipline, self-motivation and how to work with others; all important qualities needed for any self employed person. My children have the entrepreneurial bug as well so we all decided to venture into the world of Ice Cream and Desserts and here we are today!
However, this is the first time any of us have been involved in the food/restaurant industry. Though it has been very rewarding it was initially quite the challenge as there are so many specific rules and regulations for food, as there should be for food safety. But again, this was our desire and it has been very fun and rewarding. We enjoy our customers and seeing the smiles and happiness that comes from Ice Cream.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As we all know, Phoenix has many amazing things to see and do. But our heat can be overwhelming to first time visitors. I tell our family and friends, or anyone, if you are planning to visit come in the Spring or Fall. Fall is my favorite time, the weather is just perfect.

Phoenix is also home to so many cultural eateries. All you have to do is drive a block or two and you can find Mexican, Italian, American, Chinese, Thai, Mediterranean, the list goes on.

As many know, being a small business owner, your business can become your life which doesn’t always leave you time to do extra curricular activities. But we do still get out and enjoy fun Arizona activities.

One of our favorite and traditional places to go to is the Desert Botanical Gardens. It’s a convenient and neat way to see many of the native Arizona plants without tramping through the desert.

But I must say, living in Goodyear we are very partial to the West Valley. Previously not an attraction area, watching the West Valley grow over the years has really been exciting. We enjoy the Estrella Mountains, it has so many things to do such as hiking to boating on the lake and they also do the lakeside concerts through-out the year.

The Stadium and Westgate entertainment area is a definite game changer for the West Valley. There is so much to do and eat there. Oh and let’s not forget the new Mattel Theme park and Vai Resort that’s coming. That’s going to be a great place to visit and hang out, you can spend your entire vacation there.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Like I said this venture was with my 2 adult children. They are an important part of the Sweet Snow operations. My daughter Bo helps out behind the scenes with marketing, menu ideas and daily operations where needed. My son Joe is planning to open our second location in another state. We will provide more info on that as the details come in. My wife, Sukie, also has a business and she has been operating in the West Valley for over 30 years!

Website: www.azsweetsnow.com

Instagram: azsweetsnow

Twitter: azsweetsnow

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Azsweetsnow

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sweet-snow-goodyear

Other: Google https://goo.gl/maps/K66W4FjgfGdPRZr8A

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.