Kevin: Che, as a real estate agent who specializes in Shaw, I really appreciate you sitting down to speak with me about your up-and-coming business, SugaMama Sweets.
Che: I’m glad to talk about SugaMama Sweets. It’s my life (laughs).
Kevin: Let’s talk about how you got here.
Che: Well, I have had different jobs in the
past. I spent five years teaching at
Thompson Elementary School on 12th and L. After some years at teaching, I felt a very
organic pull to go into cooking, which has always been a deep-rooted passion of
mine. I love to cook, but I never
thought about a making it a career out of it until after I retired. So I went to culinary school at L’Academie de
Cuisine in Gaithersburg.
Kevin: And after culinary school, where did you go?
Che: I started at the Oval Room for a while. Then I found a job on the Red Hook Lobster
Truck (an extension of the Red Hook Lobster Pound in Red Hook Brooklyn). I did a lot of different things at first so I
could get a sense of different business models.
Originally I thought I wanted to own a food truck. After working with Red Hook Lobster, which is
an awesome experience, I’ve realized it is a lot more complicated than I
thought. So I decided to start simpler
and dedicate myself to a focused niche.
Kevin: So you instead found your own niche, small
and simple enough for you to control.
Che: Exactly.
I decided to work solely with ice cream sandwiches and frozen
novelties. I found my niche in something
tiny and sweet, packing big and original flavors. Thus was born SugaMama Sweets.
Kevin: And you are currently selling your frozen
novelties out of a few different places.
Che: Yes.
Mainly Seasonal Pantry and the Red Hook Lobster Truck. It’s going well. I’m very thankful to have a place like
Seasonal Pantry, as well as the truck.
Seasonal Pantry is stationary though…
Kevin:…as opposed
to a mobile truck…
Che:…and I’m
seeing how a business in one place can be a benefit for one’s brand. In many
ways the logistics are just easier. It
has been a gift that Dan O’Brien has shared his space with me. I am very thankful for that as well as the support
from Red Hook which really helped SugaMama get off the ground.
Che: Yes, we also have the sandwich club, which we
call the Ice Cream Goodness Club. Basically you get a monthly dose of our handcrafted
ice cream or ice cream sandwiches made from all natural, and primarily local
ingredients. You can find out more by checking out our newsletter http://bit.ly/KxNSzq
Kevin: Now, SugaMama Sweets is two people,
correct?
Che: Yes.
Myself and my partner, Lyndsey Miller-Vierra. She has complete control over the
communications and operational side. I’m
the one behind the food, trying to keep people with a sweet tooth consistently
coming back to try SugaMama Sweets’ new flavors.
Kevin: What about the frozen novelties?
Che: Our signature flavor is the S’More. It’s toasted marshmallow, ice cream, graham
cracker and a little bit of chocolate. We
have the Cracker Jack, which is caramel popcorn ice cream and peanut butter graham cracker. It’s got that salty-sweet thing going for
it.
Kevin: What else?
Che: Shake and Fries, which is chocolate ice cream
and a “French fry” cookie…think about dipping your French fries into a milk
shake. I tried to get it to taste like
that. And the Irish Car Bomb: an ice cream sandwich based on the
drink. Our goal is to find a sandwich
for everybody.
Kevin: Which gets to our next question, what is it
like starting up your own business?
Che: Well, it’s scary. You put your heart into something and there
is the possibility it will fail. At the
same time it’s exciting because you are looking at something which really could
succeed. Much of the reason I got into
this is because my heart really rests in this.
My earliest memories are of food and the people who fed me. I still remember the people who fed me in my
earliest years. Some sort of wonderful connection
takes place between the cook, the food, and the served. I like being a part of that.
Kevin: How do you go about the creative process?
Che: I am always looking for flavor combinations starting
with my observations of real food combinations.
It doesn’t start with the ice cream.
For example, beer and pretzels are classic. I then put myself to the challenge of making
an ice cream sandwich that tasted like the combination of beer and pretzels . .
. only better! It could work but if it
doesn’t at least I’ve had fun trying! And what if you were having breakfast and
some syrup rolled off of your waffles into your bacon? Thus we created a bacon and waffle ice-cream
sandwich. People either love or hate
that one (laughs).
Kevin: So why Shaw?
Why not somewhere else?
Che: I just love Shaw because Shaw is a good place
to get a sense of D.C. history. After
the riots in 1968 Shaw went through its struggles. Shaw is an integral part of D.C. and the
history is important. I’ve been living
next to Shaw for a decade and have seen it change incredibly. There have been houses boarded up since the
riots that are only now being renewed.
And I used to teach in Shaw, so I have students who now are playing an
active part of the community. Recently
one of my students was part of a Duke Ellington exhibition at the Kennedy Center. Another student now works at the garden center
right around the corner. So I’ve had a
stake in Shaw for a number of years and it felt natural to begin my business
here. Shaw is very motivated, very
proud. I love the energy of Shaw.
Kevin: Che, thanks so much for giving the time
for this interview. I wish SugaMama Sweets
the very best of luck.
Che: My pleasure.
This has been great.
(Photos courtesy of Rachel Tepper, Authorized by Lyndsey Miller-Vierra)
(Photos courtesy of Rachel Tepper, Authorized by Lyndsey Miller-Vierra)
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