Local businesses
New Katie’s Korner brings Ohio-made ice cream to Suffield
The owners of the Kent franchise are bringing a new shop to their hometown
By Michael Indriolo
Katherine Martin’s family ice cream-making tradition dates back five generations, but it wasn’t until 1983 that the Martins began meticulously handcrafting one three-gallon tub of ice cream after another for their new business, Katie’s Korner, in Girard.
Jump ahead nearly 40 years, and Katie’s Korner now manufactures 900 gallons of ice cream per hour, distributes in a dozen states and operates more than 10 franchise locations in Ohio and Pennsylvania, one of which is scheduled to open at noon Saturday in Suffield’s Double D Plaza.
“It brings people together, an ice cream place like that,” said Jeffery Eldreth, Suffield Township’s Board of Trustees Chairman. “Everybody can go, hang out and socialize.”
Eldreth said he’s excited someone is willing to take a risk and open up a new business in Suffield amid the pandemic-induced national recession. “Especially with the pandemic going on, there’s nothing for people to do in our town. … What’s more enjoyable than getting ice cream, you know?”
The owners of this new Katie’s Korner franchise, Rebecca and Rick May, have also owned Katie’s Korner in Kent since 2017. For the past year, they’ve wanted to bring a new Katie’s Korner to Suffield, the town they call home, so that they can give Field sports teams a fun meeting place after games and provide local teens an opportunity to land their first job, Rebecca May said.
The Mays worked with Realtors and drove around themselves in search of locations until March, when they purchased the building that used to house Suffield Pizzeria. They’ve since sunk money into the necessary equipment and time into preparing the new location, sometimes working at the building until “midnight, one, two, three in the morning,” Rick May said.
“Here is your normal standard operation for any restaurant or ice cream shop,” he said holding his left hand at about chest level. Then he raised his right hand above his head and said, “Here is my wife’s standard for any operation of an ice cream shop. I love her for that reason. She takes everything to the next level.”
At their Kent location, ice cream sales have tripled this year, Rebecca May said. When the pandemic squeezed local businesses like Katie’s Korner, the May family talked about the moral and ethical implications of keeping their ice cream shop open. They worked with the Kent City Health Department, spelled out, “Ice cream essential? We think so,” on their street sign and opened their drive-through. They were back in business.
“For us, as an ice cream business, there is no recession,” Rick May said.
When Katie’s Korner later resumed normal business operations, the Mays had to schedule six employees each night rather than the normal four to keep up with demand, said MacKenzie Raines, Rebecca May’s daughter and manager at the Kent location.
Katie’s Korner’s success during the pandemic isn’t limited to the Kent location. Keith Martin, son of the company’s namesake Katherine Martin, said Katie’s Korner plans to open three new locations near Cleveland next year.
“I don’t think there’s anything else for people to do, and it’s a happy thing to do and a fun thing to do,” Martin said.
“It makes me feel proud, you know?” he said. “I like to donate to the community as well, and just make everybody happy. That’s what we like to do.”
For both the Martins and the Mays, family and business remain inseparable.
“This is our, basically, bread and butter.” Rebecca May said. “I mean, this is our livelihood.”
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