Leopold’s Ice Cream has expanded to three locations in Savannah, Georgia, and now vends at events as far away as Atlanta, including Shaky Knees in September. Graham Lanceford is director of operations and Christopher Shimp is catering assistant manager for Leopold’s, which was founded in 1919.
Q: Can you tell me how long Leopold’s has been vending at Shaky Knees for?
Lanceford: So, this is our first year. We got invited by DoorDash because we recently started using their services at our Broad Street location. It was kind of a promotional deal. They would help us facilitate this, and we would be able to scoop at Shaky Knees.
Q: Has vending at Shaky Knees had a large impact on your business?
Lanceford: So far, it’s been great. It’s kind of been, you know, up and down. We are the only dessert, which is good, but it’s been pleasant.
Shimp: Going off of our other vending events, this is probably our best. This is our best first day at a vending event that we’ve done. We made yesterday about what we make in total at Jazz Fest (an event in Savannah), which is huge for us. I hope that we’re able to keep doing this. We have all the equipment for it, and we’re trying to get into bigger markets like that.
Q: So, you mentioned that you’re only in Savannah. What do you think about expanding outside of Savannah? Are you using Shaky Knees as a way to scope out expanding to Atlanta?
Lanceford: So we actually just opened on Whitemarsh Island (joining locations in downtown Savannah and the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport), and expanding is something that we’re considering. As far as all the way to the Atlanta market, it’s still somewhere, because it is so far, but this was definitely a good test for us to see how we were received and if we would have some recognition. So, it is a positive that a lot of people did recognize us and did ask if we were in Atlanta. It may be something down the line we look at.
Q: Can you elaborate on the volume of ice cream you can serve at a festival? How much ice cream do you take? Are there any flavors you have to take out for festivals like this?
Shimp: We definitely have a couple of flavors that are staples that we take on events like this. Savannah Socialite, that’s one of our most recognizable flavors. It’s one of our original flavors. It got us recognized in US Foods (a foodservice distributor), internationally and nationally, as the best frozen dessert to serve in America.
Q: Can you tell me why Leopold’s is such a staple?
Lanceford: We try to create memories, not just our ice cream. Even at Shaky Knees, Chris will ask them, “Where are you from? How far did you travel?” just to really go that second mile to get that service other than just taking a payment and getting a scoop of ice cream, it’s, you know, giving that customer interaction.
Comments trimmed for length and clarity.
Maia Geraci is a journalism major covering the music beat in Reporting I for the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
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