GOLDSBORO, N.C. — Great ice cream, great music and great community. These are the things Yvonnia Moore loves about The Ice Storm. When you walk into her Goldsboro ice cream shop there's no shortage of any of them.
What You Need to Know
The Ice Storm is a great place to get a sweet treat and experience a welcoming business in the community
The business started out as a lemonade stand in Queens, N.Y. and is now an ice cream shop in Goldsboro
Their goal is to make good food and give back to the community
The Ice Storm won the Blue Bunny Heart of Fun contest this year and had a big renovation
“Everything we do we want people to feel at home,” Moore said. “We want people to feel that this is as much their place as it is our place because we can't do it without the community.”
It's been quite the journey to make it where they are today. About 14 years ago Moore and her business partner, Antonio Williams, opened a lemonade stand called The Twisted Lemonade Factory on a street corner in Queens, New York.
“People would come by, and they would snicker like 'grown people selling lemonade? Really?,'" Moore said. “Then people started going by saying 'wow grown people really selling lemonade? Okay, I really respect the grind.'”
Eventually they bought a brick and mortar store location in Brooklyn. However, when the recession hit in 2012, they decided to move to Antonio's home town in North Carolina to grow their business. Now, they own The Ice Storm in Goldsboro. If you're looking for some ice cream, a fancy lemonade, a bite to eat and a friendly face, The Ice Storm has you covered.
“We want it to be a storm of goodness, fun, different flavors, different textures, music, all of that, sort of like a storm is,” Moore said. “A storm even though it comes and sometimes it rearranges some things, but usually there's beauty always in a storm. Sometimes we just have to look a little deeper to find that.”
The challenges didn't end when Moore and Williams made it to Goldsboro. During COVID, they were closed for six months — unsure if they were going to make it through. But as Moore says, “You can never find the light at the end of the tunnel unless you keep going.”
A few months ago, Moore applied to Blue Bunny Ice Cream's “Heart of Fun” Contest and ended up winning first prize. Blue Bunny renovated their store and gave them the help they needed to survive the pandemic.
The renovations also included a wall mural that tells the history of their business.
The Ice Storm is about more than food, ice cream or overcoming challenges. Above all else, Moore says her business is about giving back to the community.
“Whatever business you start and whatever community you're in, it's important that you always give back,” Moore said. “That has to be, just like you open your doors every day, that has to be a requirement. You always need to give back and pull someone else up, and that's what keeps you going.”
Moore and The Ice Storm team recently set up a young entrepreneurship program to help young people pursue their business dreams. They also work with the homeless, bring lunch to the senior center, host back to school drives and act as a donation center. Most importantly, they've pushed through their own challenges to give the community a space where they feel welcome. Their ice cream and lemonade draw people in, but the kindness and atmosphere they find is what brings them back every time.
“I'm glad we pushed through. I'm glad we didn't stop trying,” Moore said. “And here we are.”
If you stop by The Ice Storm, be sure to try one of Moore's favorite sweet treats: Ice Cream Nachos.
How to make Customized Ice Cream Nachos:
1. Break up a waffle cone into chip-sized pieces
2. Add two scoops of your favorite ice cream
3. Chop up some fresh fruit such as pineapple, strawberries or raspberries as toppings
4. Add some whipped cream to your nachos
5. Drizzle chocolate, caramel, and marshmallow sauce on top for the finishing touch
6. Enjoy!