What Do I Need to Start My Ice Cream Shop?

Written by Gelato Products.

Opening up an ice cream shop can be a dream opportunity for someone looking to have their own small business. In addition to being your own boss, you get to be a part of a business that is guaranteed to make customers happy. Giving people ice cream cones or frozen yogurt cups filled with delicious treats will put a smile on anyone’s face.

But there is plenty of planning that you need to do before you order your freezers, cups and tasting spoons to open your ice cream parlor, frozen yogurt shop or gelateria. Here are a few things that you’ll need to have in place before you open the doors to your new establishment:

The Right Permits: Along with getting your business license, you’ll need to read up on all of the local requirements for health and food safety. Places such as ice cream shops are highly regulated because of the potential of an outbreak of something like listeria to cause many people to get sick. Because of this, you’ll want to know if there are special requirements for ice cream parlors and what you need to do to meet them.

The Right Equipment: The equipment that you’ll need to launch your shop can vary greatly depending on the type of product that you are serving. If you are serving frozen yogurt, you’ll need soft serve machines, counters with spaces for toppings and a scale connected to your register so you can charge by the ounce. However, at a gelateria, you’ll need to worry about ice cream dipping cabinets, freezers and other items for cold storage.

High Quality Equipment: Along with knowing what type of equipment you need in order to open your shop, you also need to pay attention to the quality of your equipment and supplies. The quality of your final product can be greatly influenced by the quality of the equipment used to make, store or showcase it. In addition, having high quality ice cream shop supplies such as tasting spoons, cups and napkin dispensers will go a long way in giving your customers the impression that they are eating at a top quality shop. First impressions matter, so you want to make sure every customer feels like they are having a high-end experience at your shop.

A Knowledge of Your Customers: Before you open your shop, you need a clear understanding of who your customers will be. Are you looking to sell products to parents coming in with their children? If this is the case, traditional ice cream and frozen yogurt are great ideas. However, if you are looking for a more upscale clientele, you may want to consider selling a higher end product such as gelato.

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Gelato Products offers a wide range of equipment and products for gelaterias, ice cream parlors and frozen yogurt shops. Their products are high quality items at affordable prices that are within the budget of any shop.

You Need Your Own Car in Grand Cayman

By Andys Rent-A-Car

Before embarking on a vacation, most people make themselves a list of things they’ll need before their trip begins. The exact list of essentials is different for everyone, of course, and depends a lot on where you are going on vacation. If you’re going to the Cayman Islands, it should go without saying you’re going to need a few essentials. Sun block will definitely be on the list, for example. But so will getting a Cayman Islands car rental service.

This might seem like a strange thing to list as an essential for your trip. After all, if you look at the map, Grand Cayman isn’t very large at all. You probably feel confident that you could practically walk the entire thing in an afternoon.

The reason you want to rent a car in Grand Cayman is so that you can go wherever you like whenever you like and even return once or twice if you feel like it. It is about making the most of your trip and not spending too much time commuting from place to place.

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If you want car for hire in Grand Cayman that will give you a wide selection of amazing vehicles with plenty of features and all at affordable prices, you don’t have to look any further than Andy’s Rent-A-Car.

Marble Hill and the American Revolution

By Phineas Upham

The Continental Army chose Marble Hill as the site for a fort designed to defend the area from attack. It held until November of 1776, when the Hessians finally gained control and renamed it Fort Charles to honor Charles, Duke of Brunswick. There are conflicting historical reports detailing how the Continental Army escaped the Battle of Fort Washington, but historians are now quite sure that it was only possible through the Dyckman or King’s Bridge.

Washington and his forces engaged the British but lost in a fairly decisive manner. They surrendered the garrison at Fort Washington before abandoning the area via Marble Hill. They would return just over a year later to raid the fort and drive out the Hessian occupiers there.

In January of 1777, General William Heath gave orders for his men to shell the area with cannon artillery fire. Almost as soon as the attack begun, the Hessians retreated from a local tavern to the fort to return fire.

New York remained embattled throughout the Revolutionary War, but the tavern remained in the Hyatt family. Caleb Hyatt had bought the tavern from the same Dyckmans who had built the bridge that bore their namesake.

That tavern was razed not too long after the war to make way for the Kingsbridge Hotel. The idea was to create a space for anglers, sportsmen and hunters who visited the area. Unfortunately for the proprietors, the hotel wouldn’t last long after Broadway was expanded.

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Phineas Upham is an investor from NYC and SF. You may contact Phin on his Phineas Upham website or Twitter page.