By Hope Belli Tinney, Washington SBDC
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – Jack Walsh was looking for a new business opportunity when his daughter came home from a trip raving about an ice cream shop she’d visited in Boise, Idaho.
Instead of mulling over barrels of flavored ice cream sitting in glass-topped freezers, she said, customers mulled over a list of ingredients and then watched as their own personal serving of Sub Zero ice cream was created right in front of their eyes – frozen with a 15-second blast of liquid nitrogen.
Immediately, Walsh was intrigued. Sub Zero was founded in 2004, but as of 2011 there were only about a dozen stores in the U.S. and none in Washington or Oregon.
Walsh remembers thinking, “maybe this is it.”
“I’ve got a marketing background,” he said, “and this just jumps out at you – no question. It’s made for promotion and it’s also a great, great product.”
Business counsel in stalled economy
From the beginning, Walsh said, his plan was to open a store in Federal Way and then become an area developer to help other would-be franchise owners in the Pacific Northwest.
Despite his conviction that Sub Zero would find a robust customer base in the Seattle area, the banks he contacted to get a startup loan were unenthusiastic. In 2011 the economy was still sluggish, he said, and banks were reluctant to finance new restaurants or specialty food stores.
Fortunately, one of the loan officers he worked with suggested he talk with Rich Shockley, a certified business advisor with the Washington Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in Des Moines, Wash.
The Washington SBDC (http://wsbdc.org/) is a network of more than two dozen business advisors who meet with small business owners across the state to help them start, grow or transition their businesses. The Washington SBDC receives support from Washington State University and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Shockley’s work in Des Moines is also supported by Highline Community College; his office is in the Highline Outreach Center at 23835 Pacific Hwy. South.
SBDC business advising is free, confidential and one-on-one. SBDC clients decide the scope of work they want to accomplish with their SBDC advisor and then set up periodic meetings to work toward their goals. Typical goals might be completing a loan application, improving cash flow, implementing a marketing plan, creating a five-year strategic plan, reducing costs or improving profits.
Help with loan, franchise development
Walsh didn’t need help with marketing, but Shockley was able to help him work through financial documents and put together a strong loan application. Once Walsh had his store up and running, he and Shockley continued to meet to discuss strategies for franchise development and other issues.
“Rich gave advice and feedback and helped us significantly,” Walsh said. “It went so smoothly that I couldn’t believe it. I kept waiting for the ‘gotcha’ and it never came.”
The Sub Zero Ice Cream store at 31653 Pacific Hwy. South in Federal Way opened in 2011. Walsh became area developer for the region spanning Bellingham to Olympia and 
Seattle to Cle Elum in 2014. Operating one store while helping new franchise owners get up and running is a good fit for his skills and interests, he said.
“I’m a marketing and promotions guy, not a detail person,” he said. “I like the sales process. I like promoting the product.”
Which is what drew Walsh to Sub Zero in the first place. The science of flash-freezing ice cream makes a great demonstration, he said, and he often gets requests to bring his traveling science lab to local schools.
“The kids love it,” he said, “and the adults love it even more, to be honest.”
‘An experience as well as a dessert’
Over the past year, Walsh has been expanding the on-site catering side of his business, bringing his mobile science lab/ice cream truck to corporate events, weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, graduation and birthday parties and neighborhood barbeques. Already, he said, about 15 percent of revenue is from catering parties.
Speaking of catering, Walsh said he really enjoys being able to cater to just about any dietary preference or restriction.
“There’s a lot of satisfaction in that,” he said. “Families who have never gone to ice cream together can go to Sub Zero.”
Customers choose from a variety of bases including premium, custard, low-fat, yogurt, lactose free, soy, rice, almond and coconut milk. They choose from among more than 50 flavors and more than 30 mix-ins. While the server stirs the ingredients in a metal bowl, a blast of liquid nitrogen flash freezes the concoction to the desired consistency.
“It’s totally, totally customized,” Walsh said. “You see it happen. It’s an experience as well as a dessert.”
Customer and community service
Walsh’s first goal is to be profitable, he said, but his second goal is to give back, which he does in different ways. In addition to doing mini science lessons in schools – which end with a small treat – he also sponsors a reading program and frequently sponsors fundraisers for nonprofits at the shop.
He said he typically has about 11 part-time employees at the Federal Way store and many of them are students working their first jobs: “I want them to leave as better people and better employees, prepared for the future,” he said.
With his employees as with prospective franchise owners, Walsh said he is looking for people who are energetic, enthusiastic and focused on customer service: “The ideal franchisor is someone who is very customer oriented and wants to be out in the community.”
Sort of like Walsh, who is active in the Chamber of Commerce, has an active Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/SubZeroFederalWay) and is always thinking of new ways to support his community and promote his product.
Learn more about Sub Zero nationwide at http://www.subzeroicecream.com/. See a video of ice cream making at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZsfROJ2fPo.
Contacts:
Jack Walsh, Sub Zero Federal Way, Wash., 253-335-8113, jwalsh@subzeroicecream.com
Rich Shockley, Washington SBDC Des Moines, Wash., 206-592-4150, rshockley@highline.edu