Today we’d like to introduce you to Jake Rothschild.
Jake, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve been cooking since I was a little boy learning from my nanny, Leola Clemmons. She taught me basic Southern cooking and then when she felt I was ready she allowed me to explore making marinara sauce and soups and stews along with the occasional chocolate cake.
While I was in school at Chapel Hill I developed the first instant all-natural hot chocolate on the market and it landed me in MONEY Magazine (Sept. ’86). When I finished school I was determined to find a way to follow not along my father’s path as an attorney, but in the footsteps of my childhood hero, Willie Wonka.
I went from developing decadent hot chocolate recipes to making over the top ice cream flavors and I’ve been developing food brands ever since. My passions in teaching and mentoring evolved into The Cooking School at Irwin Street and Irwin Street Community Kitchens, a small business incubator specializing in innovative foods.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road has been like one of my favorite Jake’s flavors…The Rockiest Road…and while it as been worthy of a movie of the week, it is not one without its joys, too. Choosing the right business partner was one of the most difficult things and six years ago I was fortunate enough to find the ideal one for me in Sandy Houdeshell. She had significant corporate experience in the food industry, she thinks outside the box and she has a heart as big as the great outdoors.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Jake’s Ice Creams and Irwin Street Community Kitchens story. Tell us more about the business.
In addition to making phenomenal ice cream and hot chocolate, we also are known for our soups and sandwiches served in our diner-style cafe. We are celebrating our 18th year this year and in the food business …any kind of food business that is quite an accomplishment. I am most proud of the loyalty of our customers. They have been with us through thick and thin.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I believe we’ll be seeing more convenience…as in delivery…but I also see more folks gravitating towards the community feeling we are creating with our location. With the country feeling quite divided (and upset) politically I think we’re going to see more of our customers connecting with our loving message and spending more time physically with us.
Contact Info:
- Address: 660 Irwin Street
Atlanta, Georgia 30312 - Website: www.jakesicecream.com www.irwinstreetcooks.com www.irwinstreetmarket.com
- Phone: 404-558-68132
- Email: jdratlanta@gmail.com
- Instagram: jakesicecreamatl
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakesicecream/?fref=ts
