This is a blog series on setting up our new permanent stall at The Market on The Wharf. You can read the other posts here.
SCOOP COUNTER: Unlike our mobile scoop freezers, which we engineered ourselves to work as scoop counters, our stall scoop counter will be a traditional, commercial (“grown up”) scoop counter. Scoop counter units come in many different styles, and cost between R20,000 and many hundred thousand rands. Our budget is entry level, and we’re getting the very simple Giada J7 Extra. It’s white, and can take seven flavour inserts. The ‘extra’ means we’re getting the 2.0 model, which has a better angled glass display, and extra freezer storage at the bottom. We’re busy deciding if we want to display it as-is, or ‘wrap’ it in a counter material to match our serving counter (probably pine shutterply). Excited and nervous to learn the ins and outs of this new counter.
The Giada J7 Extra:
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SERVING COUNTER: This is where we will handle customer payments and pint sales, and it will be next to our scoop counter. We’ve decided to get a pine shutterply counter (think: pine tongue in groove) to match most of the other counters at the market. But rather than a pine top, we will get a harder-wearing white marble top, inspired by the wood-and-marble counters I snapped in the States on my recent trip. It also feels a lot more ice creamy. We’ve decided that we want to have a narrow shelf built into the front of our serving counter, for customers to place their handbags while making payment. I saw this feature in a couple counters in the States, and I thought it was really customer-friendly. Especially when people are juggling money, an ice cream and their stuff! Still deciding whether to leave the pine raw, or paint it all Creamery green.
Some of our State-side inspiration:
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STORAGE/SINK COUNTER: At the back of our stall, against the wall, we will have a storage counter than includes our washing sink, built in. It will be styled to match our serving counter (pine shutterply, marble top), and give us a much needed storage cupboard under the sink (to store cleaning supplies) and a cupboard alongside, to store our unwieldy sugar cone boxes. I’m not sure yet whether we will use the counter top alongside the sink for a washing up drying rack, or to create a milkshake-making section when we get round to actually offering milkshakes.
Next post: display and design elements
