Today we’d like to introduce you to Cynthia Hendricks.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
We opened in May 2019 in downtown Newnan, after much research (eating ice cream!). We wanted to start a business that our neurodivergent son could eventually take over and run. My husband and I are retired air traffic controllers so neither of us had food service experience. Our research consisted of traveling all over the country tasting ice cream, and cones, and generally deciding what form we wanted our business to take.
The final score was a product of all of the things we knew we wanted when we went to an ice cream shop: grass-fed milk and cream, no artificial colors or flavors, homemade cones that didn’t come from a mix, and milkshakes to die for. I am very proud of our product and where it has led us. Currently, we have 3 shops, our original store is in Newnan, one is in Peachtree City, and our 3rd opened last year in LaGrange.
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?
It has not been a smooth road. We have gotten a master class in “what not to do” in business, but we have survived and learned so much. We were slow to adapt that first winter to the fact that our business is seasonal. But by year two we were better at predicting our sales and therefore our staffing. That really helped with cash flow.
One of our biggest hurdles was Covid. Since we had just opened in May the year before we didn’t have sales history to compare from the year before for the assistance that most small businesses got. We did eventually get some money which really helped. But when we realized we might not get any, we adopted the mindset that we had to survive on our own and we did!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We make small-batch ice cream, waffle cones, and baked goods, all from scratch. We don’t use artificial colors or flavors and we do use organic whenever we can. Local farms provide most of our fruit and our grass-fed milk and cream come from small farms in South Georgia and Alabama.
We are super proud that when you eat our ice cream it didn’t come from a pouch of premade flavoring. For example for Fresh Strawberry (or any of our delicious fruit flavors) ice cream, the fruit was washed and prepared by hand, not a machine. We are a little more expensive but our product is something I think is worth it!
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My husband is my biggest supporter. Steve and Julie Pologruto are friends who had a soft serve shop in Virginia and they also gave me a lot of advice and support (any mistakes I made were not their fault!) Our customers are also amazing. They supported us through our learning process and really came through during COVID just by showing up!
Contact Info:
- Website: Rocksaltmilkbar.com
- Instagram: @rocksaltmilkbarofnewnan
- Facebook: @Rock Salt Milk Bar
