CULLMAN – Ready your sweet tooth: Big Spoon Creamery is coming to Mae's Food Hall. Mae's made the announcement on its Facebook page early Saturday afternoon. Big Spoon will open its Mae's location in late March, according to a press release from owners Ryan and Geri-Martha O'Hara. The location will be the creamery's second.
The handcrafted ice cream operation, founded by the O'Haras, a husband and wife team, started in 2014 as a “pop up” in their driveway in Hoover. The two left their jobs as chefs at famed Birmingham restaurant Bottega in 2015 and grew the business to include an ice cream truck and cart over the next two years. Big Spoon opened its first brick and mortar location in the Avondale neighborhood of Birmingham in April of 2017.
“To be honest, we did not have plans to launch a location in Cullman. But after talking with Shane (Quick), owner of Mae’s, and seeing the food hall and learning about the community, it was such a unique opportunity that we couldn’t turn down,” said Ryan O’Hara. “We love the Cullman community and are really looking forward to serving the people of Cullman. We can’t wait to introduce the people in this area to the same fresh, handmade ice cream and dynamic customer service that Birmingham has come to love.”
"Honestly, Big Spoon's ice cream is the best I've ever had, and I'm an ice connoisseur," said Quick. "I've watched their business explode in Birmingham over the past couple of years, from chasing around their food truck to frequenting their location in Avondale. We've built a relationship with the owners. As we were building Mae's, we really envisioned them from the very beginning. It just wasn't the best time for them as we were opening."
Said Quick, "Their customer service and interaction with customers is about the only thing that rivals the quality of their ice cream. It's really an amazing thing they have going on there in Birmingham."
Big Spoon will take the place of Lichita's ice cream shop at Mae's. Quick said Lichita's left in late January.
"We wish those guys well and hope them the best," he said.
As for how that space will be different once Big Spoon moves in, Quick shared, "We are in the process of building them out now, kind of getting a new, fresh look on the space and the really cook design concept they went with."
Big Spoon makes its waffle cones fresh in-house. In addition to original ice cream flavors, it also serves all the traditional treats such as sundaes and ice cream sandwiches.
Find out more at www.bigspooncreamery.com.
Images courtesy of Big Spoon Creamery.
Copyright 2018 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
