30 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 20, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com New Sanrio boutique brings offi cial Hello Kitty merchandise to Flushing BY ALINA SURIEL [email protected] @alinangelica Hello Kitty says hello to Flushing! Sanrio, the Japanese brand behind iconic cartoon character Hello Kitty, has opened a boutique in Flushing. The 1,500-square-foot store is located at The Shops at SkyView Center, and its grand opening took place on Aug. 16. Guests at the event were treated to Hello Kitty appearances and giveaways of toys, temporary tattoos and balloons, in addition to free gifts with their purchases. The store carries a mix of original and exclusive items featuring mega-popular Sanrio characters such as Keroppi the frog and Hello Kitty. Hello Kitty NY Mets merchandise will be in stock, as well as stationary, sportswear, accessories, school supplies, home decor, luggage, jewelry and more. While there are many other authorized Sanrio retailers in the city, there is just one full Sanrio boutique other than the Flushing location. The other storefront is a pop-up shop with a smaller selection of items located in Times Square at 1565 Broadway planned to stay in the area until the holiday season of 2015. A permanent Sanrio location previously situated in Times Square closed in April 2014. New Flushing store sells frozen treats inspired by Korean shaved ice BY ALINA SURIEL [email protected] @alinangelica Shoppers and residents of Flushing can enjoy cold and sweet relief during the last days of summer with the opening of a new frozen treat store. Snowdays opened in Flushing on Friday at 37-20 Prince St. and sells shaved cream, a frozen dessert that mixes the fl uffy texture of snow with the taste and creaminess of ice cream. The store has another location in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, but the new Flushing spot has its own exclusive red bean fl avor, which is not available anywhere else. Other fl avors stocked at both locations include green tea matcha, New York cheesecake and a coconut-fl avored vegan option. Founder Tony Quach fi rst tasted frozen shaved cream while living in Los Angeles. It was created as a new take on wildly popular shaved ices from Taiwan and Korea fl avored with toppings and syrup. Quach brought the dessert to the east coast soon after his fi rst shaved cream by opening his fi rst storefront at 241 E. 10th Street. “It was the best thing I had ever tasted. There was nothing like it,” Quach said. “What was fi rst a cool new place to take friends for dessert quickly turned into an obsession and craving.” According to the Snowdays website, the company replenishes their inventory daily in small batches on the premises with fresh organic dairy from the Hudson Valley and seasonal ingredients such as hand-roasted black sesame seeds and real cream cheese. Dewan Tarek, director of events and catering at Snowdays, said Flushing was a natural choice for a second location because of the strong Asian fan base which has grown around the dessert. “Flushing is a thriving Asian neighborhood, so it felt like a natural t r a n s i t i o n , ” Tarek said. “ S h a v e d cream is inspired by Taiwan and Korea so it makes sense to bring it to the people.” Photo courtesy of The Shops at SkyView Center The new Sanrio Store will sell merchandise with Hello Kitty and other Sanrio branded characters. Photo courtesy of Snowdays A shaved cream with fruit and other toppings.
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