BY JODI CHARNAS
hanks to sisters Lori and
Jennifer Gilman, the
nation's first retail ice
cream franchise, Carvel, debuts in
Michigan June 7. The Gilman sis-
ters, who grew up in West
Bloomfield, have returned to open an
ice cream store in their hometown.
Although the girls are now work-
ing side-by-side as partners, they
took very different paths before
opening the store together. Lori
■
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANGIE BAAN
went to Western Michigan University
where she majored in fashion mer-
chandising. After graduating, she
moved to New York where she
worked as a buyer at Saks Fifth
Avenue for seven years before mov-
ing back to Michigan last month. Jen
attended Schoolcraft College, where
she majored in criminal justice.
Presently, besides getting ready for
opening, Jen is working security at
the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Jentifet (left) and Lori (right)
Gilmap open a Cancl franchise
this month on Orchard Lake
Reath] West Bloomfield.
'41,4
14 •
JUNE 2004 • PLATINUM
With such different backgrounds,
how did these two sisters end up part-
nering up? "Basically we just wanted
to open a business together," say the
Gilman girls. "We get along so well it
just made sense."
After examining five or six differ-
ent franchises, Jen and Lori chose
Carvel. "Ice cream is happy. It's fun.
No one comes into the ice cream
store angry," says Jen. And not only
were they impressed by the Carvel
company, they were impressed by
the product itself.
"All of the ice cream in the store is
fresh, and handmade by us with fresh
ingredients," says Lori. Carve' sends
them chocolate and vanilla ice cream
mixes, fat free and regular, along with
recipe cards for each flavor.
Following instructions, the girls will
produce everything on their own. For
example, to make pistachio ice
cream, they take the vanilla ice cream
mix and mix up all of the ingredients
including real, fresh pistachios.
Carvel is also famous for their ice
cream cakes, which are layered with
chocolate and vanilla ice cream, and
Carvel's famous "chocolate
crunchies." "We have any mold you
can think of," insists Jen, "and if we
don't have it, we'll make it." Besides
any shape, scanned pictures can be
put on any cake. In addition, Carve!
carries other unique items such as
Fudgy the Whale, Flying Saucer,
Brown Bonnet, Banana Barge, and
Cookie Puss, and all Carvel ice cream
products are kosher certified. Soon,
they will carry both sugar-free and
low-carb soft serve as well.
The new store, on Orchard Lake
Road in West Bloomfield, has a mod-
ern design with open ceilings, neon
signs, and enough seating inside for
22 people. On the counter there are
push toys for kids to play with as they
wait for their order. Says Jen, "We
want to be a part of the community
— a place for a family to come togeth-
er after dinner that's family-friendly.
We want people to walk in and know
our names."
Although the ice cream store has
an unofficial opening date at the
beginning of June, there will be an
official grand opening celebration on
July 17 with give-aways and specials.
Say Jen and Lori, "We're just really
excited."