Ark Valley News - Family to open Breezy’s

Family members (from left) Katherine Feyes, Beth Koehn, Matt Koehn and Eric Scriven will operate Breezy's.

Family to open Breezy’s
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: May 18, 2017

The Scriven kids come from a long line of community boosters.

Now, they're throwing themselves smack dab in the middle of Valley Center's small-town life.

The Scrivens are taking over Breezy's Snow Shack and plan to start serving icy treats from the trailer on May 19.

"I want to be in Leeker's in six months and hear, ‘That's the dude from Breezy's. That's the snow cone guy. Are you going to be open tonight?'" said Eric Scriven. "I don't want to see Valley lose any kind of business, to Wichita or just in general. This is our chance to do something for Valley Center."

Eric and his sisters, Katherine Feyes and Beth Koehn, will operate Breezy's. Their parents, Ben and Robbin Scriven, bought the business from Angie John.

John started Breezy's last summer. She said the time commitment was too much for her and her family.

"Angie did the heavy lifting last year," Eric Scriven said. "Our job now is to just take it and run with it."

The family said they won't change much about Breezy's. They plan to operate at the same location — in a parking lot in the 300 block of South Meridian — through the end of September. They also want to take the trailer on the road to special events.

But they're focus is on Valley Center.

"If people want us to come out and support their event, we're open to those ideas," said Koehn, whose husband, Matt, also will help with the business.

The Scrivens grew up in Valley Center. Eric Scriven is 37, while Katherine is 35 and Beth 31. Their grandmother is Nancy Scriven, a longtime accompanist for the Valley Center High School drama and vocal music departments.

Eric Scriven is a para-educator in the Valley Center school district. He works with John at Wheatland Elementary. Feyes and Koehn are teachers.

Scriven said in Breezy's short time in Valley Center, it made an impact with local kids and families.

"You don't want to know how many times I went there," he said. "I loved it, and our kids loved it, too."

Koehn said her children were excited to learn that the family was going to operate Breezy's.

"There was nothing better than saying, ‘Hey, let's go down to Breezy's,'" she said. "They just thought it was the greatest thing in the world."

Scriven said customers expect variety.

"Part of the draw is having the 60 to 70 flavors," he said.

The family doesn't plan to make a lot of money with the business. Instead, they see it as a way to give back to the community and keep a treat in town for families to enjoy.

"We're not going to retire and sail off in yachts on Breezy's money," Scriven said. "A big thing for me was, I heard Angie was talking to people who, in theory, were going to move it to Missouri, Winfield, etc. I wanted to keep it here."

Koehn said Valley Center has been good to the Scriven family over the years.

"This was something for us to do and a way to feel good about what we're doing," she said.