Work has begun in earnest on building out the first permanent home for Go! Ice Cream. The business plans to open early next year, adding one more cool thing to downtown Ypsilanti.
Go! Ice Cream is taking over a vacant storefront on the alley side of 10 N Washington. It is utilizing $35,029 from a successful crowdfunding campaign to help jump start the build out.
"We just tore out all of the stuff that was there before," says Rob Hess, owner of
Go! Ice Cream. "It was an old office space with a drop ceiling and carpet."
Hess started making ice cream in his home as a hobby. That grew into a part-time business of him selling his cold treats at events and from a tricycle all across Ypsilanti. Opening a brick-and-mortar storefront was the next logical step.
The new space will feature a commercial kitchen for ice cream production. It will also have a 1920s-themed soda shop. Both are expected to open early next year.
"We want to open up the kitchen by February and keep working on the soda shop," Hess says. "We want to have the soda shop open by May."
Source: Rob Hess, owner of Go! Ice Cream
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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