A Tale of Two Sweet Shops

In my Sunday paper (yes, I love an actual newspaper on Sunday morning) I saw an article about the Romeo Creamery, an ice cream store that opened a few years ago in a downtown about 30 minutes from mine.  As I read the article, it became clear that it was not a feel-good independent business story, but rather a business owner crying for help because their business was failing.  The ice cream shop opened two years ago and the owner was a former employee at the downtown antique mall.  The long-time ice cream shop in the same location had closed and she wanted to step in to take it over.  The business started off well, but began to decline soon after opening. 

At some point, they had to relocate and were now operating in a smaller space in the core of the downtown district. They pointed to the economy and an uncooperative landlord as the reasons behind their plight.  For the rest of the day, I couldn't get this article out of my head.  Being a professional business rescuer of sorts, of course my first instinct was to figure out what I could do to help them.  Yet, something about this story set my Spidey senses tingling.

So I put on my thinking cap and hit the Internet to do a little research on the business.  What I discovered made the picture much clearer.  As I dug deeper, I found their Facebook page.  The posts told me (and every other visitor) everything I needed to know about the shop.  First, hours are limited (1-6 pm) and sporadic at best.  I know this because that is the comment made most often on their page by their followers that they are often not open when they come to town.  Oh, and as of July, they still didn't have a sign up and were telling customers to "look for the flag". Second, the majority of their posts focus on the other products that they sell - antiques, sugar scrubs, even chain mail jewelry.  I understand that they are looking for ways to draw customers in, but they only that they are doing is confusing their potential customers. I don't claim to be an expert in the ice cream business, and I understand that wintertime in Michigan is not the best time to be selling cold treats, but I see lots of ice cream stores in our area that are busy year-round.

So I thought I would try an apples-to-apples comparison and look at Sweet Island Yogurt, a new business that just opened in my downtown this past year. It's one of those new self-serve yogurt concepts, but independently owned and operated.  I checked their hours - 11 am - 10 pm, every day.  Their posts focus on their customers, products, and special events.  The only thing they added to continue to attract visitors during the colder weather is hot coffee and cocoa.  Simple and straightforward, they have been well-received and are making it happen every day.

So what's the difference?  As downtown managers, we see it every day.  People that go into business with their hearts instead of their heads.  The owners of the Romeo Creamery wanted to give back to their community, but didn't adequately run the numbers and figure out how to market their concept effectively.  Sweet Island Yogurt did their research, wrote a business plan and talked to downtown business owners about the area and our organization before they made the decision to open their business here.  Same product, vastly different results.

Does this remind you of a business in your town?  If so, now might be the time to make a visit to see if you can help them refine and clarify their concept so they have the best shot at success.  It's not good for anyone to see your downtown as a revolving door of businesses.  And if you see a chance to help your businesses , well, that's opportunity I'll take every day of the week!

Kristi
The Downtown Geek

P.S. - Want more?  Seek the Geek on Facebook!