Rising Stars: Meet Dr Debra Eastern of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr Debra Eastern.

Dr Debra, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Westside Creamery Desserts was launched in February 2014 as Atlanta’s first mobile dessert food truck. Owned and operated by husband-and-wife team (Llew & Debra Eastern). We have over 20 flavors of hand-dipped artisanal ice cream and sorbet. We rotate six flavors per truck event. In addition, we offered floats, made-to-order ice cream sandwiches, a self-serve sundae bar for intimate groups of 40 guests or less, and “The PerFect Pair” – homemade poundcake served with customers’ choice of ice cream or sorbet. By the early 2020’s Westside Creamery was anchored in festivals, weddings, schools/colleges, corporate events, etc. As our brand name evolved, we sought opportunities to expand into a brick-and-mortar. Then COVID hit and changed the trajectory of all food services.

I, Debra, have been passionately baking for over 60 years. In my hometown of Milwaukee, WI, I began baking cookies at the young age of eight. On Saturday mornings our elderly wheelchair-bound landlady called me down to bake peanut butter cookies. The landlady verbally directed me from her wheelchair. A year or so later she became ill, so she gifted me with the cookie recipe book from which I had baked those cookies. She insisted that, “I cherish the book, as it had been handed down to her from her grandmother.” Sixty years later, I still have what’s left of that torn and tattered cookie book. I do indeed cherish it; along with my first edition 1963 Kenner’s Easy Bake oven, and a few of my late mom’s antique baking gadgets. All of these memoirs are on display in our dessert cafe – The SWEET Spot!

Westside Creamery’s Sweet Spot is located in Grant/Glenwood Park directly across from the southeast end of the Atlanta Beltline. Launched in October 2024, The SWEET Spot still serves artisanal hand-dipped ice cream and sorbet, ole’ fashion malted milkshakes, floats, sundaes, made-2-order ice cream sandwiches and Llew’s Brews (ice coffee prepared with in-house blended coffee and a scoop of coffee ice cream). Our frozen desserts are accompanied by our HOMEMADE BAKERY – poundcake, pies, brownies, cheesecake, cinnamon rolls and cookies. We also offer a line of vegan bakery and ice cream. Our customers’ favorite is ‘The PerFECT Pair.’

Westside Creamery Desserts are in the comfort food space, so we have the sweets! Specialty whole cakes and pies are available with a 72-hour advanced order. Although The Sweet Spot has only been open 21 months, we are honored to boast of excellent customer reviews with a steady 4.9 rating. Westside Creamery Desserts still provides mobile service, however, we now only serve ice cream and sorbet on the truck.

While serving on the truck customers always asked, “which flavor is good?” Thus, we adopted a mantra that is written on the wall of The SWEET Spot – “IT’s ALL GOOD!”

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?
For the most part, our journey has been seamless. We attribute this to the fact that revenue from Westside Creamery Desserts has never been our livelihood. As retirees both from professional roles, our lifestyle was/is not depended upon income from the mobile or anchored side of the business. We have retirement income that sustains our basic cost of living.

Nonetheless, before the cafe, we did have to learn when to hold, when to fold, and when to simply say “NO” to mobile serving. After we understood that we don’t need to be everything to everyone, especially in unfavorable settings and timeframes, we experienced smooth sailing. That, however, equates mostly to the mobile side of business. Since opening the cafe, we have to commit to all day-to-day operations and nuances. Each comes with its own pleasures, challenges and outcomes. We finally have a dependable staff of young people who remind us often how much they ‘love their job’ and enjoy working at The Sweet Spot. As such, we have more time to relax in ownership. We’re now able to work the business, rather than the business working us.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a retired HR Professional of 37 years. After retiring from Corp Amer. I went back to school and earned a doctorate, Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership at age 60. I taught Research Methodology & Analytics to master’s degree students online at a university in Ohio. After that 5-year professorship, I retired again to launch Westside Creamery Sweet Spot. Thus, after earning 3 college degrees and working over 40 years, I’ve come full circle back to my real passion – what I’ve done parttime over 60 years – BAKING!

My husband Llew is a retired inner-city middle school teacher and assistant principle in our hometown Milwaukee, WI. He was known as “a classroom warrior” as he had a reputation for classroom order, discipline and respect. Nominated as “teacher-of-the-year” he had a non-traditional teaching style that resulted in real-time learning and knowledge retention. In addition to middle school, he taught basic adult education for GED programs at both Milwaukee Area Technical College and Atlanta Technical College, as well as to inmates in the Milwaukee County Prison system.

Teaching is not what Llew DID/does; it is who he IS!

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Our industry – comfort food, sweets and desserts have no limited lifespan. One of America’s top competing drug additions is ‘sugar.’ As demeaning as this may sound, the real fact of the matter is, our business – The Sweet Spot, is in the drug business! This is not however, comforting to us nor why we choose this industry. Baking is in my blood. It is what I love to do and what I am BEST at doing. It makes me happy and what I produce, makes others happy. It is what it is….

Pricing:

• everything we serve on the truck and in the cafe is under $15
• Whole special ordered cakes start at $60
• there is no fee for truck events; only products sold

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.westsidecreamery.com
• Instagram: Westside Creamery Desserts
• Facebook: Westside Creamery
• Yelp: Westside Creamery Sweet Spot