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Newspaper Coverage of Georgie's Store
July 10, 2003
Section: H-T EAST
Page: H8
DEBI SPRINGER debi.springer@heraldtribune.com
Churchgoers, early morning commuters and professionals on lunch breaks are some of the people George Bigaouette hoped to entice into Georgie's Frozen Custard and Coffee.
His shop in Albertsons Parkwood Square opened July 1 to an overwhelming response, Bigaouette said. "We were slammed," he said. "Sales were double what I expected."
Bigaouette and his 12 new employees' nervousness had them bumping into each other, spilling and dropping things during their first week.
"I was thrilled by the response, though," Bigaouette said. "The customers were tasting what they were used to tasting as a kid."
Bigaouette counted on the nostalgic taste of his frozen custard, and the store's decor came from his memories. All he did was recall his favorite childhood hangout, Jan's Ice Cream parlor in Brooklyn, which is no longer in business.
"It had original woodwork, fluted glass bulbs, a saloon-type bar and ceiling fans that ran on leather straps," Bigaouette said. "I always wanted to open a shop like that."
The process of turning the former dry cleaning space into Bigaouette's parlor began in October. The cost of imitating Jan's perfectly proved too expensive, but he did put pink-and-white striped wallpaper on the walls, ordered parlor-style iron sweetheart chairs, and installed flooring that resembled the black-and-white tiles at Jan's.
Bigaouette's affection for ice cream turned lucrative for him at an early age. When he was 16, he worked in a Good Humor plant in Brooklyn.
"When I was old enough, they let me drive an ice cream truck one summer," Bigaouette said.
After graduating college with a bachelor's degree in business administration, he joined the Army and became a helicopter pilot.
Bigaouette, a River Wilderness resident, later owned a Mr. Softie franchise during the '80s in Pensacola, but wanted the freedom to be independent. He had plans and ideas he wanted to implement.
"Opening an ice cream shop is not easy," Bigaouette said. "But, it's also not rocket science."
He didn't jump in on his own, though. Bigaouette attended Bob's Scoop School in The Villages. Bob Borkoski said Bigaouette was his first graduate.
"I did try to warn him against biting off more than he could chew, but he seems to be doing well," Borkoski said.
Borkoski said the location of the shop would be the most important ingredient.
"You need at least 400 to 500 people a day going through your store and at least 20,000 to 30,000 cars per day to drive by the shop," Borkoski said. "That's a minimum criteria."
The first person to appreciate his early hours and fresh coffee was on his first day of business. A customer walked in at 6:30 a.m. and ordered coffee and a bagel.
The menu also includes several flavors of frozen custard, gelato, Italian pastries, brownies and Chicago-style hot dogs. Bigaouette attended a gelato school in North Carolina in order to make his gelato and pastries fresh on site.
Bigaouette also offers sugar-free ice cream. He plans to offer a flavor of the day for his custards and add a calendar that details the specials.
"Flavors for frozen custard are unlimited," Bigaouette said. "German chocolate cake is my favorite."
Bigaouette's home freezer contains a stash of Haagen-Dazs German Chocolate Cake custard.
"It's a real custard with egg yolk in it," Bigaouette said."The egg yolk is where the rich, creamy texture comes from."
Frozen custard is 20 percent air as opposed to 50 percent air in ice cream. It is also 90 percent fat-free, with 10 percent butterfat, less sugar and 1.4 percent pasteurized egg yolk.
The frozen custard at Georgie's is served Midwestern-style, meaning it is scooped by hand; East Coast-style is soft serve.
Bigaouette said he realized the risk he is taking opening a frozen custard shop, but said he is confident it will succeed enough to possibly open another store.
"I'd be crazy not to be nervous," Bigaouette said.
Caption: STAFF PHOTOS / ROD MILLINGTON / rod.millington@heraldtribune.com
Lou Anne and George Bigaouette pose with one of their banana splits. Georgie's Frozen
Custard and Coffee is at 8909 U.S. 301 N., Parrish, in Albertsons Parkwood Square,
1.4 miles east of Prime Outlets at Ellenton. Hours are from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Monday-Thursday, 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 9
p.m. Sunday.
A model of an old 1953 Chevrolet Good Humor Truck sits on a shelf in the store. "I drove a truck just like that one, the first summer after I got my driver's license," George Bigaouette said. "I always wanted to own my own ice cream shop, and 30 years later, here I am."
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