Ahwatukee water-ice store marks 15th year anniversary

Sourced By: Ahwatukee Foothills News 

Not many people passing a store stop at the place and ask the owner if he’s selling – not anything in it, mind you. The store itself.

But that’s exactly what Rocky Kumar did as he and his wife Sara were house hunting in Ahwatukee and 15 years later, they still think they made the right call.

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of Chris’ Water and Ice at 1334 E. Chandler Blvd. at Desert Foothills Park, the Kumars are raffling baskets with gift cards and other goodies that Sara has been collecting from her generous retail neighbors.

The $2 tickets will be on sale from Friday, July 14, through the following Friday, July 21, and winners will be drawn on July 22. Winners will not be expected to attend the drawing as the tickets will ask for a cell number.

All proceeds from the raffle will go to Feed My Starving Children, a nonprofit that invites individuals and groups to help pack specially formulated meals

to reduce the staggering number of starving and malnourished kids around the world.

Sara not only believes in the cause, but explained that she, her husband and

two children would often join packing events at Feed My Children’s Mesa warehouse.

The raffle itself is the Kumars’ special thanks to community they love.

“We are so grateful to the community,” Sara said. “They have always been supportive and we just want to thank everyone.”

The Kumars moved to Arizona from Seattle and were drawn to Ahwatukee because they had heard great things about it and Kyrene School District.

While roving around looking at homes for sale, Rocky literally saw Chris’ Water and Ice, pulled over and told Sara he was going to ask the owner if he was interested in selling.

To the couple’s surprise, Sara recalled, “The owner said yes.”

“It took us at least a couple of years to just be a part of the community and start doing events in schools, like carnivals or community events like the Festival of Lights,” Sara said.

But judging from what she feels

about the community, there’s a full-fledged love affair between the business and Ahwatukee.

They’ve kept the name and have weathered the normal ups and downs of a

business that sells filtered water and

ice (including Hawaiian shaved ice), “nostalgic candy” and over a dozen flavors of ice cream.

They’ve also weathered the not-so-normal challenges of owning a business –

like a pandemic followed by unrelenting inflation.

And while it may seem like the current torrid temperatures might bring lines out the door, this is actually a slow time for the Kumars.

“People think we’d be busy but these are the two slowest months of the year,” Sara said, explaining that many people go out of town in search of longer respites from the heat.

Still, ice sounds like a pretty good day on a hot day and the Kumars make sure they have plenty on hand, keeping their store open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. seven days a week.

Indeed, since they’re located next to a Safeway, it’s not uncommon to get customers referred by their neighbor when the supermarket runs out of ice.

It’s that kind of neighborly atmosphere that makes the Kumars more than a little thankful to celebrate 15 years in Ahwatukee post on their website, “We consider many of the members of the community an extension of our closest friends and family.”

Information: chriswaternice.com, 480-460-5041, info@chriswaternice.com