Today we’d like to introduce you to Sharyn Lindblad. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Ted and Sharyn Lindblad have been married for over 33 years. In that time Ted has been self-employed in a variety of vocations from construction to high-end audio, and Sharyn has been in the corporate world as professional leader in the retail sector. We lived most of our married years in New England and over 10 years ago we moved to McKinney after Sharyn was recruited by JcPenney Headquarters. Both have been dreaming of starting a venture they might call their own. A profession where they could work together as a team. Remembering back to her late teenage years working at Friendly’s Ice Cream Parlor in NJ, it was Sharyn’s idea to begin an ice cream shop. Ted (being Ted) quickly suggested that our shop be different than all the others; that we should infuse a little booze into the ice cream. He recalls both his mother and grandmother pouring some spirits on their ice cream growing up in Long Island, NY. The name Cocktail Creamery popped into his head and the concept was off and running. We went to Ice Cream school and several trade events to better understand the industry. Approximately one year later Cocktail Creamery was up and running in beautiful historic downtown McKinney, Texas. We have been in business for the past 2 1/2 years. Sharyn manages the business side, while Ted is the creative “ice cream man” who invents all of our flavors.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We started out slowly with just 9 flavors and listened to what flavors our customers were interested in and Ted has been actively creating new flavors monthly, we now have 93! However, when we started out, we shared a small space within 2 other locations of which both of them closed during the start of the Pandemic, we were just 6 months into our business. Fortunately, we were offered an opportunity to open our shop inside the Pantry Restaurant at 214 E Louisiana St. This has been a wonderful collaboration and offered us more space and better visibility for continued growth. Recent challenges has been receiving all the non-food supplies to support our business, we continue to make adjustments to ensure delivery and quality is met.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We produce the finest super-premium homemade ice cream that can possibly be conjured up. Then, to amplify this already incredible edible, we infuse liqueurs into the mix prior to freezing. We make this all-in house and they are our own recipes, we have spared no expense in choosing the finest ice cream-making equipment, the most exceptional ingredients available; combining these with a very vivid imagination and love for ice cream. All of our flavors are made from a very rich 18% butterfat cream base. We also make alcohol-infused sorbets that are dairy-free and vegan friendly. For the kids, we will always have an outstanding chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla on hand, but make no mistake… this is dessert for adults! Never underestimating the most important ingredient of all, Tender Loving Care is used with abundance in every batch of frozen dessert we make!
We are known for extraordinary and unique flavors and continue to add new flavors to our menu.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
As a young business, we continue to see growth and are planning accordingly. The industry is strong and continues to have growth year over year. it is seasonal in most states, but fortunately for us we are in TX and the winter season is short. Trends are growing in Dairy Free and Vegan flavors and we do offer this and will continue to evaluate new flavors to support this. The challenge is getting the paper and plastic supplies to serve the ice cream in based on supply chain issues and influx of inventory.
Pricing:
- example: nonboozy small is $3.99
- boozy small is $5.99
- Under 21 gets 2 free toppings with nonboozy flavor
Contact Info:
- Email: sharynlindblad@gmail.com
- Website: www.cocktailcreamery.com
- Instagram: cocktail_creamery
- Facebook: Cocktail Cremery
- Twitter: @cocktailcreamery
- Yelp: Cocktail Creamery yelp.to
