It may not look like it, but as Rhonda Ferrell creates shaved ice treats for her customers, she's actually carving out a future for her family, and a chance for Ironton to have a brand new "hot" spot.

Rhonda Ferrell and her husband John have leased the land formerly held by Kehoe's where Park Avenue becomes State Route 93. They can be found every weekend in the parking lot at their Oasis Shaved Ice stand.

The frozen delicacy (sort of a next-generation snow cone) has been all the rage, even drawing visitors from as far away as Ashland, Ky.

The stand's selection doesn't stop with a rainbow of different shaved ice flavors, but also includes cotton candy and candy apples.

As Rhonda carves the ice, John operates a large inflatable play place where little ones can burn off some of those cotton candy calories.

The weekend stand, however, is only half the story.

If all goes according to plan, the Ferrells hope to expand that one inflatable toy into an entire air-filled playground.

"We're going to get a bunch of rides in here, you've seen the blow-ups like at the Gus Macker (Basketball Tournament) we'll get some of those slides and things, and it's going to be called 'Fantasy Land,'" John Ferrell said.

In the fall, they plan to remodel the Kehoe's building into a brand-new restaurant called "Wings Plus."

As they wait to open their dream restaurant, however, the Ferrells will continue to operate the shaved ice stand, which doesn't bother Rhonda Ferrell one bit.

"Actually, it is fun," Rhonda Ferrell said. "It's very festive, it's fun, and it's a lot different than what I'm used to."

Though it's normally a weekend institution, the stand will be open for the Memorial Day festivities today, which they believe will be their busiest day of the year.