Well, the kids at LaGrange in Deep Ellum just did exactly that. In fact, they knocked it out of the park.
One of the popular amenities at LaGrange is the adult snow-cone stand on the back patio, where they create concoctions like the Blue Coconut, garnished with coconut rum. In an expansion of that program, they recently purchased a small trailer and transformed it into a "snow cone trailer," which will be permanently set up in north Oak Cliff near the Foundry and Chicken Scratch. The LaGrange snow cone trailer is (hopefully) the first of several food trailers that will be situated at the northern part of a residential trailer park, officially called the West Dallas Trailer Park.
And, yes, in addition to kiddy snow cones, the LaGrange snow cone trailer will also serve their famous adult snow cones. But the humdinger is that the booze for the adult snow cones is free. Yes, free.
See, obtaining a liquor license is expensive. But, you can give away samples for free. And yes, the TABC is down with it.
Stephanie Schumacher with LaGrange explains that as long as no one has to actually buy anything to get the liquor, they're allowed to give it away (in small increments), all in the same vein as passing out samples at a grocery or liquor store.
The response from the TABC officer who Schumacher dealt with was: "If you do not have a permit at that location and you want to give it away, then, yes, as long as you do not require them to buy anything to be able to get it. You also will have to be very careful to check ID."
Sometimes bureaucracy defies common sense. But, in this particular case with the TABC, it's glorious.
At some point they may apply for the liquor license, but for now you can purchase a Blue Coconut snow cone and get a drizzle of coconut rum free.
Schumacher emphasized that no one can leave the site with the liquor and that there are picnic tables to enjoy your snow cone, which she says take about 20 minutes to eat and contains about 3/4 of a shot. One flavor they already have nailed down is the "30K Millionaire," with mango rum and grape syrup.
Right now LaGrange is waiting on a Certificate to Occupy (CO) from the City of Dallas. Schumacher said they hope to move the trailer to the spot in the next two days, then after they get the CO, they'll be ready to serve.
We'll update the moment they're open.
You can also check the LaGrange at the West Dallas Trailer Park Facebook page.
