At Clare’s Creamery, Caitlin and Michael Hayes churn out their sundae best seven days a week
Ice cream has been a recurring theme in Caitlin Hayes’s life since she was a child—from walking to get ice cream with her family on Friday nights to her first job at age 14, scooping ice cream at a little shop in her hometown of Bay Village, Ohio.
Although she didn’t know it then, that first job—which she credits as “the best job I ever had”—set the budding businesswoman on the path to success. After relocating to Greenville a dozen years ago in her corporate marketing position for Techtronic Industries, she kept hearkening back to the idea of an ice cream shop.
Encouraged by her husband, Michael Hayes, Caitlin purchased a commercial ice cream machine and stationed it on their kitchen counter, where the couple experimented with different recipes and “hoped for the best.” Realizing she had a lot to learn, Caitlin enrolled in Penn State University’s ice cream course.
In May 2020, during COVID, she began selling tastes of her products to the community via an ice cream bike. “It was perfect timing, as we got invited to a lot of neighborhood markets on weekends,” Caitlin recalls. The following year, the couple opened Clare’s Creamery in the Overbrook neighborhood.
From the five base ice cream flavors they started with, Caitlin and Michael have now compiled some 70 different recipes that they rotate between their two shops (the second opened two years ago on Laurens Road). Their core menu currently boasts 26 flavors, not counting seasonal additions.
Clare’s is not just about scoops. The shop also offers classic floats, sundaes, shakes, and specialty items like cookie ice cream sandwiches and old-fashioned drumsticks. It’s that nostalgia, Caitlin believes, that makes ice cream so appealing. “Ice cream is a vehicle, but it’s the memories associated with it that resonate with people.”
While the learning curve for making ice cream proved to be a rocky road, four years and thousands of scoops later, Caitlin and Michael have their craft down pat. “It’s been a great thing for our family,” Caitlin says. “Our [four] kids are proud of it, too.”
Perhaps most importantly, she has finally realized all of her ice cream dreams.
Cool Fun in the Summertime
Making ice cream at home is a project the whole family can share. The classic method is to make a custard, which requires milk, cream, eggs, and sugar, in addition to some time at the stove. But you can skip the time-consuming cooking step with a lighter eggless version made with just milk, cream, and sugar—plus any flavorings or add-ins you choose.
There are a host of different home ice cream makers to choose from, at a range of prices. Here is Caitlin’s rundown on three of her favorites (all are available on amazon.com):
Whynter Ice Cream Maker – This unit is what a lot of ice cream shops use to make test batches for new flavors ($254).
KitchenAid Stand Mixer Attachment – This is a great addition for people who already have a KitchenAid mixer but need to be sure they freeze their homemade ice cream in advance ($59.99).
Elite Gourmet Old-Fashioned Electric Ice Cream Maker – This unit is great and easy to use. My kids always like making ice cream like this; it takes some time but is always worth the wait ($59.99).
DIY Ice Cream Social
Some of Caitlin’s best ideas are inspired by being a mom. To make ice cream celebrations more accessible, she recently launched Ice Cream Social Kits on Clare’s website. “You get two quarts of ice cream, M&Ms, Reese’s Pieces, sprinkles, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream,” Caitlin explains. “It’s a whole party in a cooler bag you can take to go.”
Recipe
Lemon Ice Cream Cake
From Caitlin Hayes at Clare’s Creamery
Yield: 10-12 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 package shortbread cookies
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 2 quarts Clare’s lemon ice cream, softened at room temperature
Instructions:
- Use a food processor to pulverize shortbread cookies. Pour cookie crumbs into a medium mixing bowl. Pour melted butter into the bowl with the cookies and stir until mixed.
- Grease the bottom of a 9×13-inch casserole dish. Pour the cookie crumb and butter mixture into the casserole dish. Use your hands to press the cookie crust evenly into place.
- Take the softened lemon ice cream and add it on top of the cookie crust. Use a spatula to help spread the ice cream in an even layer.
- Freeze the ice cream cake overnight. Just before serving, decorate the cake with cookie crumbles, fresh fruit and/or whipped cream.
Note: Feel free to substitute different cookies and ice cream flavors to create your favorite ice cream cake combination.
1635 E. North St., and 1901 Laurens Rd., Greenville, clarescreamery.com
