OCMS Business Partner Spotlight: Junction Creamery
Junction Creamery owner, Kim Short, is proud of the ice cream’s shop place in Osceola’s history and she is on a mission to discover all she can about her business. Although it has had different owners, she believes the store, as an ice cream shop, has been in service for at least 30 years, only interrupted for a few years when it was Breadeaux Pizza.
Junction Creamery came to life in 1979, when Ron and Virginia Ogan built and operated the original ice cream shop. Although Kim is still working on the chain of operators and their stories, she does have the recipe secret for the most requested treat- lemon ice cream. The recipe came from the owner of the Osceola Whippy-Dip after it was permanently closed.
Kim hopes to find more information and photos in library archives and possibly through community enthusiasts who may have old photos. Her goal is to build a timeline with information and old photos to display inside the shop.
As the owner, Kim’s routine duties include scheduling and managing 14 high school and college-aged employees, sourcing, and ordering ingredients for all the tasty treats, and trying to stay on-top of maintenance, “I am definitely not the fixer,” she said, “and it’s been challenging to get parts during the pandemic.”
Additionally, patrons might be surprised to know there are lingering issues in the food supply chain. Common wholesale ingredients remain hard to find, and she pays more for the same products she has always ordered. These costs, however, will not be passed on to the public, “I decided early in the year that I would not raise prices,” Kim said, “and community support has been wonderful.”
Ice cream is not a cure for everything, but Kim said it must help people feel better during a pandemic, because once opened people flocked to the shop. Closing the inside dining area because of the pandemic forced her to adapt and solve a good problem. The drive-up window could not handle the increased volume of customers, so she added a walk-up window.
When she closed for the season, Kim took advantage of the OCMS Building Improvement Grant by repairing and updating the exterior. Her next projects will be updating the fencing, adding a new sign to the top of the building and replacing the one near the highway.
Some people have suggested adding other food to the menu and catering, but Kim is not considering anything else, “We are doing what we are good at and sticking to it.”
Once Kim determines a date, OCMS will help her celebrate Junction Creamery’s place in Osceola’s history. If you have old photos or other information to share, please contact Kim at [email protected].
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