It goes without saying that the past 19 months have been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. I don’t know who the ride conductor is but they should be fired. I’m not certain any of us know who the conductor is exactly, but many of us probably have similar sentiments about the quality of the ride. The good news is, as a business, we have emerged from the strangeness (has it gone away?) a stronger business. In the early months of 2020 we were run through the gauntlet and tested by fire. Luckily enough for us we sell ice cream, so that helped defend our honor, however the chocolate didn’t fare so well (this is a joke, our chocolate side of the business is healthy and thriving… lot of new treats in the pipeline planned!). In all seriousness though, the past 19 months have been difficult for us as a small business in the restaurant industry. We’re leaner and more fine tuned. Smarter about saying no. Wiser about the width of our product offering and how often we change it. In many ways, it feels like we got a fresh start.
The other problems never went away though. Equipment breaks on the regular, though we keep it well maintained. Rent continues to climb. Expenses across the board continue to climb. The labor market is tight and there is fierce competition on the wage front which makes capital intensive, expense-heavy small food businesses like ours feel like the odds are unfairly stacked against us. Nevertheless we persevere. Why? Because we have purpose.
We make worthy treats for every body.
I’m the first to say everyone needs to cut most of the sugar from their diet. We do not sell health food. What we sell is about the best possible scenario for a treat indulgence that your body can handle, and along with that goes joy, delight, and the trust in knowing that we’ve gone all those extra lengths in sourcing, in crafting our minimally processed delights so that you can enjoy something of a higher caliber, and your body will thank you for not doing the opposite. Knowing that we offer something that only a handful of companies in the country are able to do is a source of both pride and responsibility. That gives our work value.
Meticulously made from scratch from intentionally sourced ingredients.
We haven’t posted any new blogs in the past 19+ months because it’s the old shoemaker’s children paradox. As the owner and creative culinary, design, and branding mind behind Love’s, I have all the skills and talents to create impressive and effective marketing assets, but as a small business owner, husband, and father, at the end of the day, something’s got to give. I feel the voice of the blog has to come from an internal source, or what is the point – merely to drive traffic to our site to try to make another sale? I’m more interested in long term deeper engagement with our customers. Previously, our head ice cream churner would write the blogs and some social media content. We no longer have that position or a staff member who has the pulse on the intricate goings-on of the business to have enough content to offer. I’m sure that will change again in the future, but for now this duty is on my plate. Although this plate is one amply piled with greens and veggies from Green Wagon Farm, Tortoise & Hare Farm, Full Hollow Farm, Visser Farm, mushrooms from Mycophile’s Garden, fruit from Wells Orchard, Animal Welfare Approved pasture-raised meat from Crane Dance Farm, wild caught Alaskan sockeye salmon from Net to Table, walleye from Pure Mackinac Fish, and can’t forget plums from Nyblad Orchard, all prepared simply from scratch every day, and although nourishing and delicious, that plate is very, very full. My sincerest apologies that you, our blog readers, get the leftovers.
I hope that you have emerged from the last 19 months somehow better than before, even amidst the intensity of a world that has seemingly gotten crazier in such a short amount of time. It is my hope that you found some stillness, or something simple that you treasure and will never let go of. My family rediscovered the ritual of a tiny scoop of post-dinner ice cream. A constant reminder that life is good and meant to be shared with others, not to take it too seriously, and that my oh my do we make some good ice cream.
Cheers friends,
Chris McKellar