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Instead of an average summer job, three high school students from Martensville decided to take a sweeter route.
Carson Heuchert, 17, 16-year-old Alex Garchinski and 17-year-old Wyatt Strueby dipped their toes in the entrepreneurial world and opened an ice cream shop in Martensville’s Kinsmen Park. They dubbed it Cones Ice Cream.
“I think ice cream is something everyone likes,” Garchinski told Gormley recently. “This is just something our town needs.
“It’s something to bring people together. I know everyone’s saying it, but I think it really is helping with people’s morale while COVID is a thing.”
Earlier in the year, the three teens joined forces. They began brainstorming ideas to make some cash during the summer months.
“We didn’t want to do what everyone else is doing like retail or fast food,” Garchinski said. “We thought we could do a little bit more.”
Heuchert came up with the idea of opening an ice cream shop.
“I think he meant it as a joke, but I took it a little too seriously” Garchinski said. “With four months of planning and a lot of late nights spent in my garage, we were able to start Cones Ice Cream.”
To start the sweet venture, the three friends needed a little cash. Garchinski’s dad scooped into his wallet to help the teens get started.
“My dad really helped us out a lot,” Garchinski said. “If we do have a mentor, it would be him. He really believed in us, so we are really grateful.
“I think he wants me to get the experience now so that I can be successful in my later life. Then maybe he can spend a bit more of his retirement money rather than having to leave me a whole bunch.”
Last weekend marked Cones Ice Cream’s first official weekend of being open. The shop did so well the teens were able to pay Garchinski’s dad back in full.
So far, the teens are learning a lot about the entrepreneurial process.
“We’re just kids and we are trying to figure it out kind of on our own,” Garchinski said. “Yes, we had help, but there was sort of a process there. We didn’t find challenges with our age but we had to go through the standard procedures of getting food safety, a business licence, bank accounts and stuff like that.”
As the excitement of opening day fades, Garchinski expressed how their hard work is slowly paying off.
“There are ups and down to everything in life,” Garchinski said. “I feel the downs a bit more. I thought it was going to be as soon as we open we could take a step off the gas and everything would be already planned out. But seeing now that we’re open, it’s even more work than we had before.
“But when we counted up our money on the first day, we really just felt the reward there. I think it’s going to get better. It’s just the start, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Open weekends from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and weekdays from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., the ice cream shop is serving up 16 flavours of hard ice cream, two sorbets (dairy free and sugar free), freezies, pops, floats and water.
The shop is to remain open until the end of August.
