To the surprise of many, Sugar Cone Cafe in Kensington closed on Christmas Eve. The previous owners are trying to sell the business and we would like to get your ideas on how to make this shop better.
Sugar Cone Cafe was located at 303 Arlington Ave. in Kensington’s Arlington Shops shopping district. The Arlington Shops is home to businesses like Inn Kensington, Young’s Market, The Arlington, and Arlington Wine & Spirits.
I had a nice, long discussion with the owner of Sugar Cone Cafe, Andrea Tung. The main reason she decided to close it was the amount of hours it required from her took too much time away from her young kids. Many people don’t realize how exhausting it is to run a small family- business.
This shop was a labor of love for her. She loved seeing the neighborhood kids come after school to get an ice cream and have a safe place to hang out. She prefers to keep those qualities, a business that serves the community, the families and the kids. In addition to selling ice cream they also sold other desserts, sandwiches, and coffee. But with running the day-to-day operations it left her with little energy to advertise it as well as she wanted to.
She thinks some changes need to be made to make it really work. One idea she has to give the new owner(s) a better work/life balance is to have it run by a co-op, a group of non-working Kensington/El Cerrito parents, for example. Not only could they spread the responsibilities but they could also combine their talents.
Perhaps the shop needs to sell additional food items to generate more revenue and compensate for the slow ice cream sales in the winter. Or perhaps this space needs to change direction entirely.
We’d like to hear what you would like to see here.
Submit your suggestions on Spotmojo using this link: http://www.spotmojo.com/openspot/sugarcone/
You can also use the code “SugarCone” on Spotmojo to find this spot.
If you'd like to contactAndrea can be contacted at info@sugarconecafe.com.
El Cerrito Patch is working with Spotmojo to collect your suggestions for vacancies. Spotmojo is a website where you can suggest the businesses you want where you live, work, or play. The suggestions are provided to new businesses and commercial real estate brokers to help new businesses find their ideal location. This gives you a voice in the businesses that open in your neighborhood and it helps local businesses succeed.
