Last June, Sarah Bornick, owner and operator of
Streetpops, told Soapbox that if her business went well, she hoped to open a storefront. That goal was reached in less than a year.
With the lease already signed and after completing renovation with her brother, Bornick will open for business in late March.
She got her start after taking a couple classes at the Midwest Culinary Institute with the idea of making ice cream. After seeing a less competitive market in popsicles, she took a popsicle making class in Florida, came back to Cincinnati and ordered popsicle molds from Brazil. After testing out recipes and began her business.
Bornick started selling gourmet popsicles last May at the OTR 5K and continued with events such as Second Sundays in OTR. Until now, Bornick has been renting commercial kitchen space from a deli in downtown Cincinnati, but the kitchen can no longer handle Streetpop’s production scale. But in less than a year, she has created enough business to open up a storefront at 1437 Main St.
When Bornick saw the former Fork Heart Knife space open up, she jumped at the opportunity.
“I’ve always loved that space,” Bornick says. “We can use it as our production kitchen, and also as a small point of sale.”
The 700-square-foot space includes a kitchen, and Bornick hopes to be making popsicles for events every day. Over the past year, Bornick only sold Streetpops a couple of days a week. Now, she is looking for weddings, corporate events and farmers' markets to make her business a daily routine. So far, a lot of business has come from word of mouth and referrals after people see her at farmers’ markets around the city.
“It’s hard to say how much we will be producing,” Bornick says. “But I know I will be hiring a couple seasonal workers to help me out.”
Bornick signed the lease for the storefront last September and has been using the kitchen to make batches since. Once she opens her doors, customers will be able to walk in and purchase popsicles in quantities of one to 50. Want more than that? Call Bornick and get a batch made just for you.
By Evan Wallis