The site of the former Yo Toppings frozen yogurt and hot dog shop in Waterloo will soon be revitalized as Oh Sugar Ice and Cream. 

New business owner Debbie Dunevant said her shop will offer both snow cones and hard-scoop Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream imported from Madison, Wisc. 

She closed on the property at 624 N. Market Street on Friday and is already beginning work inside.

“Waterloo people have wanted snow cones and they have wanted hard-scoop ice cream,” Dunevant said. “It serves two purposes. There are some people who don’t want ice cream, so this encompasses everyone. It kind of hits everyone’s flavors.”

For Dunevant, sweets are in her blood. Her parents were the longtime owners of Tropical Sno in Dupo, her hometown, and her son continued the business when they retired. 

“I used to live next door to my parents’ business, so I’ve always been right there,” Dunevant said. “That was my dad’s retirement gig, and this is kind of what I’m looking forward to. I’m still going to be a school teacher for a while, and then this will take me into enjoying retirement.” 

While Dunevant has always wanted to provide treats at a business of her own, the idea had evolved over time. 

“About eight years ago, I took a small business course. I was looking into this … and wanted to do this to supplement my income,” she said. “I always wanted a fro yo shop, and then when the previous owner called us, we were just like ‘Yes, this is the right time. This is the moment.’” 

Dunevant explained that the owner of Yo Toppings knew the family wanted to bring snow cones to Waterloo, so when it was time for Yo Toppings to close, she naturally reached out to Dunevant. 

As anybody who knows Dunevant can attest, “Oh Sugar” is the perfect name for the new ice cream and snow cone shop. 

“It was kind of a joke. I was going to name it something else, and then I said to my son, ‘We should just name it Oh Sugar because that’s what I say all of the time.’ He texted me back and said, ‘I love it.’ We put ‘Ice and Cream’ because we’ll have ice cream and ice, like frozen snow cones,” Dunevant said. 

In addition to combining her love for ice cream, snow cones and favorite saying into a business venture, Dunevant said she’s incorporating another passion of hers into Oh Sugar. 

“I’m a board member for Helping Strays and I have been with them for 15 years and have probably rescued over 1,500 dogs,” she said. “I want (Oh Sugar) to be pet-friendly, obviously not on the inside, but we’ll have some pet-friendly products.” 

Dunevant hopes to open Oh Sugar in mid-April.