Today we’d like to introduce you to Debi Yorke.
Hi Debi, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
JUKE N JIVE CREAMERY – Our success story and how we’re growing. My husband and I purchased a home in Braselton, GA and while learning about the community, realized there was only one option for ice cream, and it was a major food chain. Like most major food chains, the menu is limited and management is not able to bring creativity to their jobs. The flavors of this major food ice cream shop were limited and typical to what most people know. We were raised on homemade ice cream and Jesus and felt we could bring more variety and more personality to the community, so that is how our dream began in 2017. My husband came up with the 50s and 60s theme for our shop which allowed us to create our tagline “A Taste Back In Time”. Our vision was to build a place where families could be together at the same time experience what it was like to live in the 50s and 60s. Almost five years later and through the most difficult time in restaurant history, our little business, Juke N Jive Creamery is still thriving today.
Juke N Jive Creamery’s ice cream flavors vary from the old classics, such as Strawberry, Vanilla, and Butter Pecan to their unique flavors, including Bourbon Salted Caramel with Chocolate Chips and Biscoff Cookie. They pride themselves in making their ice creams with all-natural flavors and colors such as purple carrot, spirulina, and beets. They also make dairy-free ice creams for their lactose intolerant guests, and their fudge is made in their fudge kettle with real butter. The waffle cones, also homemade, come in flavors such as maple, chocolate, bubble gum, blue raspberry, toasted coconut, and more. When a guest walks into their shop, the sweet aroma of waffles and ice cream is the first thing they experience.
Our business is family owned and operated. My sister is our baker extraordinaire who is responsible for making from scratch our homemade desserts including peach, blackberry, and triple berry cobblers as well as a variety of bread puddings. These desserts can be pre-ordered as a whole dessert or individually purchased from one of our location’s grab-and-go freezers. Our grandson started his own spin-off business at the age of eight making homemade popsicles. JK Popsicles are sold both in our brick-and-mortar locations as well as on our ice cream truck, which we purchased in 2021 and rent out for private events such as family reunions, corporate events, weddings, birthday parties, employee/teacher appreciation, sporting events and more. My eldest daughter is our events manager and is responsible for coordinating all of these events both for our ice cream truck and onsite shop parties.
One of our biggest accomplishments we are very proud of is the survival of our small business during a worldwide pandemic. While restaurant businesses all around were cutting back on labor and shutting their doors for good, we excelled. All our sweet confections, including ice cream, were offered through various online food order companies as well as through our website at www.jukenjivecreamery.com for curbside service. By offering these ordering options and working in our own business, we remained not just open but financially successful which in turn allowed us to expand. In 2022, we were invited to Lake Lanier Margaritaville Water Park. We now have our “Sugar Shack” directly on the beach which is managed by our son-in-law. Also in 2022, we signed a lease for the Cumming City Center for our third location soon to be opened. The Cumming City Center offers free concerts as well as a number of restaurants, boutiques, miniature-putting courses, coffee shops and so much more.
In addition to our Braselton and Cumming locations, our “Sugar Shack”, and ice cream truck, we recently signed a lease to expand our business with a mini–Juke N Jive Creamery shop in Hoschton, GA, which will be owned and operated by my youngest daughter and her husband. Juke N Jive is hoping to start franchising in 2024. So if you love ice cream and Jesus, this might be the business for you. If franchising isn’t the route that you want to take, ask us about our investment opportunities.
Remember to always Eat Dessert First!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We had all of the normal problems that business owners have these days. One of the biggest challenges we faced in the beginning is that we are a seasonal business. Within the first two years from March through September, our business boomed but once school went back in session and the colder weather crept in, we saw a significant decrease in sales and during those first two winters, we weren’t sure if we were going to survive. But through these and many other winters since then as well as a worldwide pandemic, we survived and in some cases flourished.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
What sets us apart from others is the quality of the products we put into our ice cream. There are so many allergies these days that we opted to not put eggs in our mix and use only natural flavors and colors. We also have a wide variety of flavors that most ice cream chain restaurants don’t carry, such as Bourbon Salted Caramel with Chocolate Chips, which is our #1 seller, Biscoff Cookie, and Lavender Honey just to name a few. We also make and sell our own waffle cones in a variety of flavors including chocolate, lavender, blue raspberry, and many more.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Our goal is to reach as many customers through our current shop in Braselton, our mobile ice cream truck, and our two new shops opening in Cumming and Hoschton this summer. We also aim in the next 5 to 10 years to offer franchise opportunities as well as open a distribution center for selling our ice cream wholesale. We would like Juke N Jive Creamery to become a household name for Gwinnett County and surrounding areas. And as always, our main mission is to put a smile on our customers’ faces.
Contact Info:
- Website: jukenjivecreamery.com
- Instagram: jukenjivecreamery
- Facebook: jukenjivecreamery
- Linkedin: Juke N Jive Creamery
- Yelp: Juke N Jive Creamery
