Sisters move from ice cream truck to new ice cream shop in Palmetto
Sisters Mindy and Ali Converse have made the leap from rolling ice cream truck to brick-and-mortar ice cream shop.
Two years ago, they were selling ice cream from their truck at The Home Depot, farmers markets, birthday parties, weddings, special events and neighborhoods.
On March 2, they moved into their American Honey Creamery into a new shop at 4949 96th St. E., on the southwest corner of Interstate 75 and Moccasin Wallow Road.
They still offer the same home-made ice cream as before, but have added more flavors and other offerings in their 1,200-square foot facility. They offer 17 traditional flavors and one special flavor each month, and have been able to add sundaes to the menu.
“We now have signature sundaes which we weren’t able to have in the ice cream truck. We’re really excited about that,” Ali said.
An example: the Holy Heifer Sundae features three scoops of ice cream topped by hot fudge, hot peanut butter, home-made whipped cream and lots of crumbled Oreo cookies.
New on the menu are locally roasted coffees and teas, and a selection of pastries baked by Der Dutchman in Sarasota.
Mindy, 25, and Ali, 22, don’t mind hard work. They come from a fifth-generation New England dairy family. They, and their parents, did much of the build out of their business space, starting last October, to get the shop ready to open.
They had their eye on their shopping center location for some time, but the pandemic slowed up their move. The shopping center attracts traffic from the fast growing Moccasin Wallow, North River and beyond.
Their neighbors include TK Grill & Barbeque and Corporate Ladder Brewing.
“We have a lot of foot traffic and you can get a dinner, a drink and dessert all in one spot,” Mindy said.
The sisters know that much more growth is coming, but they like the still-rural nature of the area.
“We felt like we really fit in,” Ali said. “After COVID, people seemed to be more focused on supporting small businesses.”
American Honey Creamery has also become an employer with a staff of 11, made up mostly of teenagers.
“For many of them this is their first job. In them and their initiative we see a lot of ourselves,” Ali said.
American Honey Creamery is open 7 a.m.- 8 p.m. Tuesday though Saturday and 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sunday. The shop is closed Mondays.
For more information, call 941-981-3830 or visit https://americanhoneycreamery.com/.
This story was originally published May 20, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
