By Beth Treffeisen
Grace Conor of Little G Ice Cream Company
The sweet white goo of the marshmallow fluff swirling in-between chocolate ice cream glistened in the hot summer heat, slowly melting into the Café Nero cup. Known as “S’mores” it is one of the best sellers of Little G’s Ice Cream Co. and is capturing new fans with each taste.
Behind the making of this homemade ice cream, South End resident, 17-year-old Grace Connor pours her heart and soul into making people happy through her various sweet concoctions.
“This is what I like to do with my time off,” said Connor sitting in front of Café Nero in the South End.
Made by scratch, the handmade ice cream touts flavors such as “Salted Caramel Blondie”, “Snack Attack” with pretzels, potato chips, and candy-coated chocolates, along with “Triple Cookie Dough” made up of three different cookie dough flavors.
The local business opened this past January out of the Commonwealth Kitchen in Dorchester. By using money saved up from a home-brew bakery business out of her parent’s house in the South End, Connor was able to save enough money to rent out her kitchen space.
The ice cream first appeared this past winter at Siena Farms in the South End, when Connor trekked through a snowstorm to make her first delivery. Looking at the tiny refrigerator holding her product, she wondered, “Is anyone going to buy this?”
It sold out within the week.
Months later the store boasts loyal customers looking specifically for Little G’s ice cream. You can now find her ice cream at two other locations: Bee’s Knees Supply Co., in Allston and Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge. Orders for deliveries can be made online at www.littlegicecreamco.com.
Now that school is out for the summer, this rising senior is using all of her free time churning up ice cream and testing new flavors.
“It’s not really work for me,” said Connor. “I’m not one to hang out at the beach.”
Her love for making ice cream began when she ran a small business out of her house making baked goods for family and friends. While she was experimenting with ice cream by putting her baked goods into them she realized that people really enjoyed the combination.
Connor said she pretty much makes all the ice cream by herself. The little help that she get’s is from her mom who helps with dishes and putting labels on the pints.
As far as having fun with friends at school she said, “I’m so busy when I’m at school – between doing homework at school to be able to leave by three – then focusing on this business for the rest of the afternoon that a lot of people don’t know about it.”
She joked saying, “I guess they think it’s cool,” after some friends found out she was in the Boston Globe.
In the future, Connor hopes to take a gap year to build up her business to be able to run on its own. That way she can later attend college for business with a possible focus in food science.
Connor also hopes to expand her business to larger known stores such as Whole Foods.
As of now, her dream is to continue to share her ice cream with as many people as possible.
“I don’t really do it for the money,” said Connor. “I like people sampling and trying it for the first time – that’s what I like.”