Phase inside the compact shop at 2711 Fort Campbell Blvd., and on every white table is a indicator, “Life is much better with ice product.”
Eric and Angel Engel, proprietors of Heather’s Handmade Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt, embrace that estimate as they serve buyers in their new brick-and-mortar spot.
“It was a big leap for me,” Angel mentioned about opening their store Could 29.
“We’ve kept the ice cream the exact same,” Eric mentioned. “The way we make it is nevertheless the similar. It is the exact same flavors. We want to make sure we continue to keep that. We really do not want to eliminate that.”
The starting
The Engels’ enterprise begun in 2014 soon after shopping for an electric ice product maker at a tag sale.
“My oldest daughter and I and my spouse began building ice cream at property. We had some buddies with a make stand in Clarksville and imagined we’d attempt to promote this stuff,” Eric reported. “My daughter and I went down there for a few weekends and started promoting it.”
Shortly thereafter, Heather Engel was diagnosed with mind most cancers and generation stopped. Immediately after a 14-thirty day period battle, Heather died at age 12.
The Engels wanted to do something in Heather’s memory “to hold her title alive.”
“Since that was the previous thing we ended up accomplishing and she loved it, we started out the ice cream business enterprise back up and named it following her,” Eric claimed. “We enable that be the inspiration that drives us ahead.”
“She beloved (producing ice product),” Angel explained of Heather. “It was the coolest factor to her looking at how it churned. She loved mixing and churning it.”
In April 2016, the pair found a concessions trailer for sale in Upton, and the trailer was wholly outfitted for handmade ice cream, including the churns.
“God genuinely was like ‘OK, let us do this,’ and plopped it in our laps,” Angel mentioned. “Really, it was just a God factor.”
The Engels began getting their home made ice cream to community festivals and occasions and the acceptance of their product or service grew. About 18 months afterwards, they bought a 2nd, 20-foot trailer for their enterprise.
“Once again, it was a God factor. It just so occurred to be my preferred shade yellow,” she said. “We used the winter season and spring receiving it ready. We lastly begun utilizing it in July or August past year.”
The Engels established up their large trailer on Fort Campbell Boulevard following to Burger King and took their smaller sized a single to Oak Grove several times a week very last summer. At the conclusion of last period, they took the substantial trailer household, but two weeks later, it burned in an electrical fire.
“Since it was hooked up to our dwelling, it had flipped the breakers,” she reported. “When he went to flip them back, they kept flipping. We knew a little something was improper. He went out to the trailer. It experienced fully burned and snuffed by itself out.”
The Engels had attained a crossroads in their company.
Brick-and-mortar
“That timing was around the exact time that Tangy Roots closed,” Eric claimed.
“That was variety of the gateway for us immediately after that was settled,” Angel mentioned. “This (brick-and-mortar store) was sort of our finish dream, but we never believed we would be here now.”
They satisfied with the Tangy Roots homeowners and “God worked it out,” Angel claimed.
With the new invest in, Angel and Eric wanted to change the location to symbolize their loved ones and their enterprise.
“Teal was Heather’s favourite colour,” Angel said. “Then, we required to tie in yellow for our foodstuff trailers, which is amusing simply because that’s my favourite shade.”
With suggestions from Henry and Cathy Hoover of Traveler’s Lantern Marketplace, and their daughter, Darla, they incorporated daisies and string art during the retail outlet.
“We experienced a slew of volunteers to help us paint,” she stated. “I adore it. I appreciate the way it turned out. It took a great deal of volunteer several hours.”
One particular of the highlights of the location is a Overcome Childhood Most cancers mural painted by local artist Amy Peters, depicting a few small children traveling yellow ribbon kites.
“She just went above and past something I could have imagined with that mural. It’s totally lovely,” Angel said. “The tallest female is Heather. The center boy, his title is Kaydyn. He passed away in 2017. The littlest female, her name is Ayla … She’s performing pretty effectively.”
Far more selections
Whilst they continue to have the modest trailer to transport their handmade ice product to neighborhood activities and festivals, the Engels claimed they have been ready to maintain their original solutions and increase the menu at their shop.
“When we ended up in the trailer, you are limited for the reason that of house and electrical and water,” Eric mentioned. “There are a large amount of constraints. So, you have received to preserve it basic and basic. Here, we have expanded to shakes, floats, banana splits, sundaes and frozen yogurt, too.”
They now have 3 frozen yogurt devices in which they make 6 flavors.
“Just to attractiveness to a broader audience,” he mentioned of frozen yogurt. “For these people who just cannot eat ice cream or it is harmful or they don’t like it, we have expanded our menu enormously.”
“But, a large amount of folks continue to arrive in precisely for the ice product,” Angel included.
Although Angel operates the entrance counter, Eric is at the rear of the scenes mixing and building ice product from scratch — the old-fashioned way.
“We just use the primary, very simple substances you would make if you were at residence,” he claimed. “Milk, cream, sugar, salt, lemon juice, vanilla flavoring. That’s our base. We don’t set food items coloring and dyes in it. Our mint chocolate chip is white which throws people today off because they are wanting for environmentally friendly ice product. Issues like that, it sets it apart.”
Each and every batch of ice product helps make around 5 gallons or about two tubs of ice product.
“Homemade ice product is a shed artwork. The upcoming generation of young people today, they are not utilised to having true, sluggish-churned ice product,” he explained. “There’s a good deal of perform included. It made use of to be all people did this. It is now a area of interest. It’s quite guide, heavy lifting. You have to have a fantastic recipe, if you really do not you are going to be like absolutely everyone else.”
The Engels provide far more than 13 flavors of ice product, but both equally agree that banana-flavored ice cream is however their finest seller.
“Banana. More than the course of our enterprise, banana has been our No. 1 vendor,” Angel claimed.
“Nowadays, it’s tough to come across banana ice cream any place,” Eric reported. “It’s not commercially created. A good deal of ice product outlets really don’t carry it.”
Year-round home made ice product flavors are chocolate, vanilla, mint chocolate chip, cookies ‘n’ product, chocolate chip cookie dough, butterscotch-Heath and espresso. Amid the seasonal flavors are peach, caramel-maple-praline, strawberry and pumpkin spice.
Heather’s Do-it-yourself Ice Product and Frozen Yogurt is open up from 11 a.m. until eventually 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and shut Sunday. For additional info, get in touch with 270-498-9433 or pay a visit to the Facebook web page @heathershomemadeicecream.
“It was intended to be,” Angel stated. “God’s just been with us each phase of the way. I’m fired up.”
Arrive at Michele Vowell at 270-887-3242 or [email protected].