Shaved-ice business’s mobile shack stolen, found damaged in nearby driveway
Sep 18, 2023, 6:38 PM | Updated: 7:00 pm
TAYLORSVILLE, Utah — It’s been a hectic 24 hours for a shaved ice business in Taylorsville.
Just-A-Craving is picking up the pieces after a mobile shack they own to host events was stolen. The Taylorsville Police Department eventually recovered the shack thanks to a hunch an officer had after responding to the call.
The owners said they used the mobile shack they have been operating since 2017. On Sunday afternoon, right after opening, co-owner Madeline Chuy noticed the truck was gone.
“I came out and there was no shack,” Chuy said. “I called the other owner, ‘Elizabeth (Allende), you need to come out.’ I couldn’t even say or explain what was going on.”
They called police shortly after. When an officer showed up, he told them he noticed something suspicious at a nearby house.
“He explained to me that there’s a house in the area that he’s been suspicious of,” Chuy said. “He did notice something weird in their driveway.”
Sure enough, it was their shack. It was located at a home less than five minutes away from the business.
Chuy said cardboard was nailed up against the shack to cover the logo. A tarp was also covering the shack’s recognizable red roof.
Taylorsville police executed a search warrant, and Allende was able to enter the shack. She noticed everything inside was gone, as well as significant damage to the exterior and interior of the shack.
Police searching the home of the suspects who allegedly stole the shack. (Courtesy:
Just-A-Craving)
“It was shocking, no spoons, no gloves, we had gummies, everything was missing,” Allende said.
Police were able to locate some of the larger items like a generator and speaker system, two of their shaved-ice machines. The more expensive item, however, is broken.
Allende estimates the damage around $5,000. Chuy said had they not been able to locate the shack, they would have lost at least $30,000.
“We just finished paying it off a couple of years ago. We’ve had it since 2017, so it’s something we’ve put a lot of work (into), fixing it, keeping it well taken care of,” Chuy said.
The owners are grateful to police for the quick resolution.
“I’m so thankful for that, just recently, our neighbor got robbed. She couldn’t get most of it back,” Allende said. “So, I’m thinking, what business gets robbed and kind of gets most of it back?”
Chuy and Allende are hoping to have most of the repairs made to the shack before their next event they have booked in a few weeks. Taylorsville police said charges against the suspects are expected to be filed soon.
If you would like to help the business out, you can find them at 2594 W 4700 S or visit their Facebook page.
