We were lucky to catch up with Amber Tkaczuk recently and have shared our conversation below.

AMBER, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

The story of Cup & Cone begins with a deep-seated desire for connection. When our kids were young and playing sports, we always wished there was a place in our small town where families could come together after games—a spot to celebrate wins, shake off losses, and, most importantly, build connections over a scoop of ice cream. That idea stayed with us for years, growing with each conversation about what it would take to open an ice cream shop.

We also wanted to invest in our community by purchasing a building in downtown Bennington. When a property became available, we looked into it, but it wasn’t quite the right fit. However, we’d shared this vision with Jeremy’s parents, Pam and Harry, who happened to be out on a boat ride one night with their neighbors. When they casually mentioned our idea, the neighbor surprised them with an incredible opportunity: they owned a property in downtown Bennington and were willing to sell.

That serendipitous moment felt like a sign. After careful thought, we decided to bring Cup & Cone to life. It wasn’t just about selling coffee and ice cream—it was about creating a gathering place for our community, a place we had wished for ourselves. Knowing we could finally fill this need and create a space to foster connection made the venture feel like more than a business; it felt like a calling.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Jeremy and I brought our unique backgrounds to Cup & Cone, with Jeremy’s family experience in construction allowing us to handle most of the build-out ourselves, and my full-time career as a REALTOR giving us a strong sense of our community’s needs and values. However, since neither of us had any experience in the restaurant industry, we faced a steep learning curve. We spent countless hours researching everything—finding reliable sources for our products, learning to price menu items correctly, developing recipes, managing profit, and, most importantly, designing a space that customers would want to return to time and time again.

We also dove into understanding how to manage a team, knowing that creating a culture of care and respect for our employees would help ensure that warmth is passed along to our customers. We believe we have really nailed this one. We constantly get rave reviews about our staff!

At Cup & Cone, we serve soft-serve custard and sorbet, specialty coffee and espresso, food items, and fun retail items- mostly curated from local vendors, with an inviting downtown location and a cozy patio featuring a fireplace to enjoy most of the year.

What truly sets us apart is the careful attention we pour into everything—from the high-quality ingredients we use to the exceptional people we hire. Every detail is chosen with intention, with the goal of providing our customers an experience that feels a little like home.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Funding Cup & Cone was a mix of careful planning, saving, and support from a few key sources. Since Jeremy is a firefighter and I’m a REALTOR, both of us having full-time jobs allowed us to save a significant portion of the initial capital ourselves. This financial stability gave us a strong foundation to get started.

Additionally, we were fortunate to have an outside investor who believed in our vision and helped with the build-out costs, allowing us to focus on creating a welcoming space without cutting corners. To cover a few remaining expenses, we also used a HELOC on our home for a small loan. Combining our savings, investor support, and a little help from the HELOC, we were able to bring Cup & Cone to life. This blend of resources made it possible to take our dream from an idea to reality while keeping our finances balanced.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Starting Cup & Cone was a journey filled with challenges that tested our resilience in every way. With zero experience in the restaurant world, we were stepping into completely new territory. For months, we navigated endless legal paperwork, tweaked and perfected recipes, set prices, and figured out how to hire and train a team. Every step felt like a mountain to climb.

Our daughters, who work at the shop, were instrumental in our success—they managed our social media marketing and continuously brainstormed new ideas to boost traffic and efficiency. Their creativity and dedication became a backbone for us, showing just how much this was a family effort. But despite this support, the process was overwhelming. On top of our full-time jobs, the demands of launching Cup & Cone often left us exhausted, and there were nights when I questioned everything, wondering if we had taken on too much and feeling tempted to throw in the towel.

Yet, each hurdle taught us something, strengthening our determination to make Cup & Cone a reality. Looking back, those hard moments were what gave us the resilience we needed to push forward and create a place our community loves.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cupandconebennington.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cupandcone_bennington/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Cup-and-Cone-Bennington-100084479298450/