Written by Owner reflects on business journey, emphasizes community
Author: Aeon Bailey | Summerville Journal Scene
Aeon Bailey abailey@journalscene.com
May 28, 2025
When software engineer Christian Puma was laid off from a local startup during the pandemic, he wasn’t sure what to do next. However, he remembered growing up on Long Island, New York, and thinking an Italian ice shop would be fun to operate. Puma said he never tried it before because of the competition on Long Island, but when he found himself in South Carolina and without a job, he decided to give it a go.
“I kind of picked out this little dream that I had in my back pocket,” Puma said. “My wife [Christine] has been so supportive, and we can’t do it without her.”
Together, the Pumas own and operate Puma’s Italian Ice & Hot Dog Shack at 115 E. Richardson Ave. in Summerville. The hot dogs became a permanent menu item after a successful one-day promotion, with an array of specialty hot dogs available and many ingredients, such as chili and pulled pork, made fresh in-house. Christian Puma said it’s more than just the food that keeps customers coming back.
“You are greeted as if you are family,” he said. “If you’ve known us for 20 years or 10 minutes, it’s a family vibe.”
Puma explained the restaurant became a community hub when people started donating tables and chairs to create new seating because customers wanted to spend more time inside.
“We started seeing that people were standing and waiting and just wanted to hang out, and the next thing you know, we were getting tables dropped off at our door with little notes, ‘Hey I want to sit and stay.’ That’s why none of it matches,” Christine Puma said.
The community atmosphere translates into the digital world as well. Customers can share which hot dogs they try at pumasice.com. –
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