During high school, Devin Sellers thoroughly enjoyed pushing a Sunset Slush cart for Stephen and Catherine Saia, who had locations on Ocean Isle Beach, Oak Island and Sunset Beach. Brother Drew graduated from UNC-Wilmington in 2008 during an extremely tough job market, and together they convinced their parents to open a Sunset Slush in Holden Beach. Father Donald kept his job at the post office, mother Susie kept hers at a clothing boutique, and Devin attended East Carolina University while they started the business. Then tragedy struck when Donald passed away suddenly, right after Devin graduated in 2013.

From left: Drew, Susie and Devin Sellers

“As we were working through our grief and deciding next steps, the Saias were very supportive,” recalls Drew. “We enjoyed the satisfaction that came from operating Sunset Slush. It felt like our family was making other families happy, and we needed that. Over the years we bought the other locations in Brunswick County, while the Saias were mentoring Devin to manage the distribution aspect of the business. At the time, there were 115 independent operators across the eastern US. We took that over in 2022.”

“Being an independent operator rather than franchisee with all the fees can be a life changing opportunity, like it was for us,” says Devin. “Today we supply product and support to 140 operators in 18 states. People experience it here on vacation and want to take it back home. When someone says, ‘Oh, this is so good, I wish we had one at home’ we say, ‘Go home and start one!’ The quality of the Italian ice, the smoothness, the texture and the flavor just can’t be beat. It’s creamy like ice cream, but there’s no dairy. We have more than 30 flavors with endless combinations.”

“Kids that can’t have ice cream come on vacation and enjoy a sweet treat with their families; it’s so much fun to watch their excitement!” says Susie. “Everyone has a good time here. We hire around 70 high school and college age kids each year, teaching them life skills along the way. Some stay with us for eight years! Our customers get to know and look forward to seeing them. We meet people from all over the world, and we’ve developed relationships with people who come back year after year. Drew and Devin are both married, and they each have three children who love the business, so I think we’ll be doing this for a while!”