‘Community is key:’ How one ice cream parlor in Cary aims to be inclusive
On South Walker Street just feet from the developing Downtown Cary Park, you’ll find a colorful ice cream parlor with some of your favorite flavors, soft drinks and treats.
When you walk in, you’ll be greeted with the scent of cinnamon, a friendly smile and wave.
At Howdy Homemade Ice Cream, the ice cream is made fresh in the store and is served by employees, better known as “heroes.”
On the opening shift Thursday, Abbey Goodwin said one of her favorite parts about working at Howdy Homemade is operating the cash register.
“I like the math,” she said.
The new ice cream parlor opened last month at 370 S. Walker St., and Goodwin is one of the 13 heroes working the register, scooping ice cream and fixing it with toppings.
The store sits beside Gigi’s Playhouse’s Cary location, which serves as an hub for people with Down syndrome and their families.
Howdy Homemade Ice Cream, a non-profit, has a similar story. The store, founded in Texas in 2015, creates jobs for people with an IDD, or an intellectual and developmental disability. It now has nine locations around the country including one in Asheville that opened in 2021.
Of the 18 employees at the Cary parlor, the 13 heroes all have an IDD. Some of the shift managers are also neuro-divergent, or on the autism spectrum, according to Maddie Rogers, the store’s general manager.
The Howdy heroes
Owner Phillip Lin said the business is just warming up.
With the park down the street and warmer weather, he expects to see more customers coming in and plans to roll-out new flavors and other items like waffle cones, waffle tacos, and pints to go.
Last week, the store started making milkshakes, which the heroes are now learning how to make.
“We also have non-dairy,” Lin said. “Everything is made here. We’re very proud of what we do here.”
Without saying how much, Lin said all employees at Howdy make above minimum wage in order to compete with other wages.
People with an IDD have a mental, cognitive or physical disability which can affect self-care, receptive or expressive language, learning, mobility, self-direction, or economic self-sufficiency, according to the state’s Council on Developmental Disabilities.
The council works to help the more than 180,000 residents in the state find jobs and the support they need professionally. It reports a third of employers say people with disabilities stay in jobs longer and perform at an equal or more productive level than employees without a disability.
At Howdy, the heroes work behind the ice cream counter using a numbered and lettered system that requires them to mark on a sheet which ice cream, how many scoops and what toppings a customer wants. They follow the numbers and letters on all of the items to complete the order.
Often, the shift manager will help with scooping if a flavor is too hard or make other items like milkshakes. On busy days, there can be up to four people behind the counter.
Lin said because some of the heroes don’t read well, the process is “very key” because it helps them visually see what they have to do.
Still, it takes time, and sometimes the workers get frustrated or overwhelmed, said Rogers. Part of their training helps them learn to be patient with themselves and ask for help when they need it.
“They whole thing about our participants is that they can do it, they can learn it. Sometimes it’s just slower,” said Becky Timblin, the adult program manager for Gigi’s Playhouse. Some of the participants at the playhouse also work at Howdy.
“For a lot of people, when you get a job and you get stuck to it, it’s not fun for anyone,” Lin said. “That’s not what we’re about here. We’re about not only helping them with transferable skills but helping them grow professionally and personally.
“You won’t stay here forever and if you want to go somewhere, let me help you get there,” he said. “This may be just a stop in your journey.”
Impacting generations
On opening day, the line wrapped around the block — some people brought folding chairs — and the store ran out of graham crackers for toppings, Lin said. The first 100 customers received a T-shirt.
Some customers brought canned goods to be donated to local charities in exchange for free ice cream scoops.
“Community is key. One of the things we want to do to sort of separate us is to be sure we give back to the community,” Lin said. “This is a start of something, for good partnership, for building community.”
Partnering with other groups, Lin believes, will also help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities become more visible in everyday activities and careers.
“We don’t do enough of that,” he said.
Job carving, or shaping jobs specifically for a certain type of employee, makes people more secure in their role and helps them grow into other areas, Rogers said.
“It’s finding an individual that you think is going to be a phenomenal worker and then deciding how you can shape your employment opportunity,” she said. “Its technically a backwards way of employment, but that’s the whole goal here, is that they feel like they can walk in an do their jobs.”
Because Howdy Homemade and Gigi’s Playhouse share a wall, there is a small window for people on either side to look out in. The two businesses also help with training and future employment opportunities for people, Lin said.
One of the programs they are helping spearhead is “Gigi’s Prep” which will train people with an IDD in areas like communication, money management, or preparing for job interviews.
“It’s life skills as well as being able to work in an ice cream shop,” Rogers said.
Now that the Cary parlor has been opened, Lin wants to open another location in Raleigh and hopefully keep expanding.
“The goal is not to make money, it’s to give back,” Lin said. “Now the next generation growing up will know there is hope for them. We want to be impacting generations to come.”
This story was originally published March 3, 2023 at 10:59 AM.