Photo Credit: file
Beau Shell in 2014.
Unlike most kids, who tend to be interested in something for about five minutes after you’ve paid for it, Beau Shell (aka the Lil’ Ice Cream Dude) has spent the past five-and-a-half years building his small business.
He started off with a little cart, out of which he sold popsicles and frozen novelties at events around town, eventually becoming the youngest member of the Athens Chamber of Commerce. More recently, he upgraded to a heavy-duty food-truck-style trailer after a successful crowd-funding campaign. He works nearly every weekend in the hot months and fairly frequently even in the cold ones. He’s also only 13 years old.
On Small Business Saturday, he’ll open Cool World, a proper brick-and-mortar store, in the Shops of Ansonborough, on Gaines School Road on the Eastside.
Shell’s opening event will run from 10 a.m.–8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 25, with business presentations at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., plus tours of the shop and taste tests, all leading up to another crowd-funding campaign that will offer prizes like autographed books, ice cream parties, t-shirts and gifts from local celebrities. The shop is behind Johnny’s Pizza, in what was previously a bakery. You can see the full invitation here.
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