We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ysahai Honor-Marie. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ysahai below.
Ysahai, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
I was born and raised in the hospitality industry in Bermuda and moved to the US for University. I completed my Masters Degree in Michigan and I am currently living, working and loving Detroit. Once I moved into Downtown Detroit, I fell in love with its revitalization and entrepreneurial spirit but I also realized that women of color especially African American women were rarely seen in this Downtown Detroit food industry revitalization. I wanted to create opportunities and employment for women and girls of color and this started my entrepreneurial journey. Ice Cream Detroit’s desserts are not your standard ingredients and we are focused on collaborations with local ingredients, liquor and dessert brands to give our customers unique and flavorful delights with dairy and non dairy options.
Our strongest selling points at Ice Cream Detroit is our unique taste, the liquor infusions and that we have something for everyone in your family, including your dog! The demand for frozen delights is not going to plummet any time soon (it increased during the pandemic) which is why we are expanding our business with our flagship store in Midtown on the corner of Second & Selden – Spring/Summer 2023.
Ysahai, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Ice Cream Detroit is Detroit’s only liquor infused frozen dessert company. We infuse your favorite Ice Cream or Sorbet with your favorite liquor, beer or wine. Each flavor is created in small batches and is made from scratch. We are currently a Pop Up Confectionery and we will expand our reach in our flagship store in Midtown, Detroit – Summer 2023 to not only provide alcohol infused but also non alcoholic (virgin) frozen desserts. Our desserts are not your standard ingredients and we are focused on collaborations with local liquor and dessert brands to give our customers unique and flavorful delights with dairy and non dairy options. Our signature flavor is a Strawberry & Faygo Red Pop Sorbet infused with Coconut Rum – Local Fruit and Detroits Local Pop Brand. Our strongest selling points are our unique taste, the liquor infusions and that we have something for everyone in your family, including your dog!
COVID-19 hit our Pop Up Confectionery pretty hard as our prescheduled Pop Up events and locations were cancelled and our rented commissary kitchen closed which forced us to close, refocus and improve our business and frozen dessert skills. The demand for frozen delights increased during the pandemic which is why we are expanding our business with our flagship store and production kitchen. We have found a prime retail location in Midtown, Detroit on the corner of Second & Selden, opening Summer 2023! It will serve as our home base for our retail, public/private events and catering along with our Ice Cream Truck & Tricycle.
Have you ever had to pivot?
COVID-19 hit Ice Cream Detroits Pop Up Confectionery pretty hard as our prescheduled Pop Up events and locations were cancelled and our rented commissary kitchen closed which forced us to close, refocus and improve our business and frozen dessert skills. During the pandemic, my business partner and I renewed our Managers ServSafe certification and improved our ice cream making skills by completing the PreGel America Ice Cream 101 course which taught us theory and technical training in the production, decoration and serving of Premium Ice Cream. I also recently completed Carpigiani’s Frozen Dessert University which focused on all the components of how a frozen dessert business operates; starting from ingredients, production cycle and recipe making techniques. Pivoting during the pandemic allowed us to focus on providing the best ice cream and sorbet.
The demand and retail sales increased for frozen desserts during the pandemic and during that time we purchased an ice cream bicycle, an Ice Cream Truck and recently signed a lease to our new home – 3762 Second Ave – Midtown, Detroit.
How’d you meet your business partner?
Ice Cream Detroit was started in 2018 and is owned by Aaron Hall and myself, Ysahai Honor-Marie. We both have our unique start in hospitality and the collaboration of our skills and experience has grown Ice Cream Detroit. I was born and raised in the hospitality industry in Bermuda. Once I moved to the USA and into Downtown Detroit, I fell in love with its revitalization and entrepreneurial spirit but I also realized that women of color especially African American women were rarely seen in the food industry revitalization. I wanted to create opportunities for women and girls of color and this started my food and dessert business adventures. Starting with my food truck – Comfort Cafe and Ice Cream Detroit.
Aaron is a Michigander and studied Culinary Arts at Schoolcraft College and specializes in bakery and pastry arts with a love for frozen desserts. Aaron Hall is known as Mr. Detroit and is a Detroit Foodie. Aarons love for desserts allowed him to create his first business Humble Grounds – elevated baked goods.
Aaron Hall is like a brother to me and we decided to utilize our skills to collaborate and expand Ice Cream Detroit from a Pop Up Confectionery to a Brick and Mortar.
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