Ice Cream Diaries – 9 April 15, 2004

Hello and welcome to another diet-breaking episode of your favorite ice cream reality show, the Ice Cream Diaries. I’m just now catching my breath from the big Easter holiday candy rush, and with the little slowdown due to this week of April showers, I have a few minutes to jot a few notes and anecdotes into the trusty journal. Coming off my best sales day to date, Easter eve, or as we New Englanders call it, Easta eve. And I didn’t even have to have my buddy Mark dress up in his pink Easter bunny outfit and stand outside the shop. (I think he was disappointed though.) My friend Michelle (the woman who used to own the candy store before she sold it to Carl, who sold it to me…did you follow that?) had told me Easter was always her biggest holiday, but I was skeptical. Darned if she wasn’t right. As I overheard a Mom telling her little girl, my shop was an ‘Easter Bunny drop-off’ point. A place for Moms, Dads, boyfriends, and girlfriends alike to buy all the fixin’s for their Easter baskets and egg hunts. Michelle had given me some great tips on what good stuff to sell (little bags of chocolate eggs and anything pastel colored, panorama eggs, lots of chocolate bunny things), so I was well stocked. I spent every night and early morning cloning little chocolate bunnies in my kitchen laboratory, then had Betty busy bagging bunnies by day (getting my monthly tongue twister out of the way early). My most popular confection, like those Valentine chocolate heart boxes back in February, was, are you ready for this one, chocolate-dipped marshmallow peeps. As one of my customers exclaimed when I pitched them to her in the shop, they were a ‘stroke of genius’. As it happened, I had ordered a case of marshmallow peeps from a supplier, price unseen, and when I eventually did the math against how much Peeps were selling for at the nearby Wal-Mart, I realized I couldn’t charge enough to make any money. So to solve this retail riddle, I put a few packs out anyway as ‘loss leaders’ then put my thinking cap on to figure out a way to squeeze a little margin out of them. That’s when the dipping idea hit me. They sold like hotcakes, or as I now like to say, they sold like chocolate-dipped peeps.

I’m actually sort of happy my last big candy holiday of the ‘off-season’ is over. The big three (Christmas, V-day, and Easta) were all great for candy business, and I do think I got a bit wiser at preparing with each passing holiday. Now that I’ve been through each of them once, I know what to expect. But they were definitely a lot of work, especially making those chocolate bunnies and lollypops well into the ten o’clock news and were somewhat of a distraction from my ‘core business’ of ice cream. I can now truly focus on cranking that up for my first real ice cream season. Speaking of focusing on ice cream, last time Dad came up for a visit/ice cream making session, he left me with an old copy of a study book called, “Commercial Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts”. It talks all about the science and chemistry of ice cream. It was subtle, but I think he’s telling me you can never know too much about ice cream. Good advice. Especially now that I’ve started doing little shop tours for kiddos. I did my first field trip a few weeks ago. Gave a little ice cream making lesson/demo for a group of high schoolers. It was fun, definitely more fun than some of my previous life presentations on scheduling and inventory strategies for phone equipment. I’ve started working through Dad’s required reading, and I’ve already gained some useful ice cream knowledge. I can’t wait to work the terms ‘propylene glycol alginate’ and ‘locust bean gum’ into my next kids’ birthday party ice cream lesson.

Speaking of chemistry, a salesperson came into the shop a few weeks ago from Garelick Farms to peddle his ice cream making supplies. He bragged about their 15% butterfat mix and offered me a sample to try in my ice cream. I told Dad about it a few days later, and he smirked confidently as he told me that he actually invented that mix. His last job before starting his first ‘mom and pop ice cream shop’ was with West Lynn Creamery, where he created a 15% ice cream mix formula for them. Well, West Lynn was later sold to Garelick Farms, formulas and all. Pretty cool. I’d only wished I’d known that fact when the sales guy was in the shop. Would have been fun to respond to him by saying, ‘Yah, that’s my Dad’s formula’. Instead I just asked how much Locust Bean Gum was in it.

With the warm weather just around the corner (pan camera to fingers crossed), it’s time to start staffing up for the season. I’ve been collecting applications more or less since I started, and now it’s finally time to dust them off, sort thru them, and figure out who to recruit to scoop. It’s not as easy as it sounds, since we’re talking about teenagers, most who’s job experience is lucky to include babysitting or delivering newspapers. Most of the decisions will likely have to come down to gut feel. Are they personable, friendly, presentable, intelligent (I know it’s not rocket science, but college-bound is a good thing)? After pondering the pool of applications, five or six did rise to the top, and I’m happy to report my company size has now grown to four. Enter Allison and Liz. Looks like Betty’s day’s of running unopposed for Employee of the Month are just about over. Their first round of training is completed, and they’re up for their first official shifts this coming balmy weekend. Laura actually worked at Bart’s Homemade Ice Cream in Northampton last summer, so she’s got scooping and frapping experience already on her resume, which is nice. With some help from Jane, my ice cream conference friend, I’ve put together my first employee handbook, with all the do’s and don’ts of working at Mt. Tom’s, along with the how to’s of making cones, sundaes, milkshakes, and the rest of the lineup. Aside from the ice cream experience, Laura was a clear choice because of her response to my application question, ‘What do you think will be the best part of working at an ice cream shop?’ Her answer, ‘Seeing that look on a little kid’s face when they’re eating ice cream’. I know that look, it’s pretty cool.

Since the last installment, I did my first trade show. Dubbed the ‘Business Tabletop Expo’, it was held at a big function hall on Mt. Tom called the Log Cabin. Along with a couple hundred other local business owners, I paid my seventy-five bucks for a 3x6 foot white tablecloth-covered table and a chance to offer a live three hour infomercial to 400 or so businesspeople and townsfolk. My table was actually very simple. A big Mt. Tom’s Homemade Ice Cream logo sign, a couple hundred brochures, and most importantly, free sample cups of my homemade ice cream. Pistachio Nut, Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt (BR2C Fro-Yo as the cool kids like to call it), chocolate, and cookies n’ cream. By the end of the night, I’d given away almost 300 samples. My ice cream was the talk of the floor. It was awesome. The Log Cabin people were nice enough to give me access to their walk-in freezer, so with the help of my trusty volunteer sidekick Ken, we kept 4 big tubs in the freezer and repacked and shuttled quart tubs to the table to scoop. I’ve never considered myself to be much of a salesman, nor did I ever sell many lemonades from all those childhood roadside stands, but peddling great ice cream is a pretty easy sell, especially when it’s free. Thanks again Ken for your help. And for only allowing me to pay you in beers and a Mt. Tom’s t-shirt.

It troubles me to report some disturbing news I need to share with you. It seems that Root Beer Rudy has had his first taste of heartbreak. Yes, his float has lost its fizz. Turns out his little lady friend was not a one-boy girl. He found out she had two other boyfriends, albeit none as cool as he. He told me the sordid tale one day, needless to say over an RBF cocktail (a Black Cow if you prefer soda fountain speak), and about how he dumped her when he discovered her wandering ways. ‘I had to break it off clean, show her who was boss,’ he calmly explained. He was carrying a huge roll of duct tape with him that day, not sure what that was for. Aside from a bit of an angry edge, he seemed to be doing ok with it. With the slicked back hair, goth look, and leather wallet with chrome chain attaching it to his belt loop, he still exuded a confidence that made me think the next little lady to be drawn to his teen beat magnetism couldn’t be far off.

The other troubling news of the month is dairy prices. Holy cow. Seems that butter and cream costs have more than doubled in just the past few weeks. And you thought gas prices were going thru the roof. I had to raise my ice cream prices a little bit to cover, but I’m still trying to keep the menu reasonable. Hopefully, those dairy farmers will work out their issues with government subsidies, etc. so prices will come down again. Unfortunately, like the weather, not much I can do about that one either. Just a little venting, thanks for indulging me there. Let’s move on.

With the exception of that month of free digital cable, I haven’t been much of a TV watcher these days, but I must admit I did get hooked on The Apprentice. I’m really going to miss Troy, Omarosa, Heidi, and the rest of the pretty business boys and girls. Maybe even more than Chandler, Joey, Pheobe, Monika, Ed, or Frasier. In the spirit of The Apprentice, I’ll be working on a little segment in the Diaries to showcase my new crew, ‘The Scoopers’. I hope to be reporting on how well they come up to scooping speed and who rises to the top of the Mt. Tom’s food chain, while sharing a few funny stories at their expense. Hopefully, I won’t have to use the ‘you’re fired’ line anytime soon though.

Love this time of year for Boston sports. A fresh new Red Sox season full of hope, a pretty good Bruins hockey team in the playoffs, and even a pretty average Celtics team in the post-season. So many sporting events, so little time. I know, a little off topic, but it popped into my head as I was sitting here with my diary and one gassy cat, so there you go.

As the official ice cream season approaches, the calendar of events is starting to fill up. Next weekend, I’m providing 118 scoops of sugar-free ice cream for an open house at the Curves gym a few doors down from me. May 16^th I’m hosting an ice cream social for the Cottage Street Stations business group I belong to. You might remember me mentioning those Friday morning meetings. It should be a pretty big event, a three hour open house for all the supporters of the businesses on the street. The Mayor and town officials, along with about 100 other business people will be invited. Will let you know how that goes.

And last but definitely not least, I’ve scheduled an official ribbon cutting ceremony. It’s going to be Friday, May 7^th at 3 pm. Fat red ribbon, big tacky scissors, the Mayor, Chamber of Commerce officials, and anyone else I can drag off the street to look on and help give it a major event feel. I’m planning to cut a giant ice cream cake and maybe even get a circus clown (been looking for a reason to hire a clown my whole life) to create a festive mood. I’m also planning a little reception in the shop after hours (starting at 8 pm). I wanted to take this opportunity to officially invite you to stop in for a toast and a taste. May be logistically tough for you, but if it’s possible, I hope you can drop by. I’m planning to send out a more formal invite, but wanted to let you know now just in case you think you might be able to make it. I’m planning for the Friday ribbon cutting to be the kickoff for my ‘grand opening’ weekend. Hopefully, the weather will bring sun and warm temps just like this coming weekend.

Game on, here we go…

Enjoy this fine warm weekend, and as always, thanks for listening and hope to see you soon.

Jim