By Dave Evensen, The Republic Reporter
NASHVILLE — After 25 years of engineering, Cathy Rothrock needed a change. Ice cream sounded good.
The Brown County resident resigned from her job at Cummins, and in early 2005 she purchased a longtime Brown County wholesaler, Sweet Country Ice Cream.
She and her husband, Timothy, bought a former shoe store in downtown Nashville and began renovating to combine the ice cream business with a bakery and restaurant.
On June 4, they opened T.J. and Cath’s and the renamed Brown County Ice Cream and Bakery Inc., under one roof on Locust Lane.
Business has been decent — she’s paid the bills and mortgage — but challenging. To give an indication of the land mines that await those who invest in Brown County’s tourism industry, Rothrock referred to another bakery in town that opened about the same time.
That business went under when the leaves fell.
Rothrock, however, has been comfortable enough to place an experienced cook, Donna Sattler, on full-time salary, and during the busy season she employed 17 people.
They’ve also maintained the ice cream business, and sell to restaurants such as Story Inn, Hobnob Corner, Artist Colony Inn and Smith’s Row in Columbus. The ice cream also is sold in Nashville’s IGA store.
Rothrock credited her success so far to diversifying her sales, pleasing the locals and adjusting her menu to meet demand, such as the Portobello mushroom grilled cheese that made the list after a customer request.
Idea lists dot the walls, and the sales cases include a variety of store-made soup, sandwiches and other food, some quirky, such as persimmon ice cream and dry chicken noodle soup in a glass jar, for take-home.
Rothrock stood in the dining room one cold and rainy weekday afternoon, when tourists were AWOL. Still, a neat stack of the day’s sales slips sat behind the counter, and the doorbell dinged as a few locals came in.
“For a new business, they say in three to five years, you’ll make a profit,” Rothrock said. “I’ll say in two years, we’ll make a profit.”
Recipe for success
The Rothrocks weathered the first six months of business through a mix of advice, referrals, good hires, and their sweat and resourcefulness.
Before opening, Rothrock researched loans and presented a business plan to the Small Business Administration in Columbus for advice.
“They thought all my ducks were in a row,” she said.
Upon opening, however, Rothrock and her husband, who works days at Qualtronics LLC, found more tripwires than they expected.
They paid $3,000 to transfer the walk-in freezer. They purchased equipment, and then shelled out more to meet health and safety codes: $500 for a cement pad under the Dumpster; $3,000 for a fire suppressor system; more for an ventilator hood over the fryer.
The unexpected costs could have sunk them, but Rothrock adapted on the fly. She saved an estimated 50 percent on equipment costs by shopping online at eBay, where she bought all the ice cream freezers, bakery cases, the milk shake machine, coffee pots and other items.
“I figured out how to bid right on eBay,” she said. “You wait until the last minute and put in an atrociously big bid, and no one beats it.”
She’s also learning the local business cycles. At first they opened from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., but changed when no one came before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m.
The Rothrocks relied heavily on the work and ideas of Sattler, a mother of seven who has worked in the local food industry since she graduated from Brown County High School.
“I’m a cook, or a food artist, or whatever you want to call it,” Sattler said, as she spread powdered sugar over cookies.
Rothrock said several employees started wearing cloth caps, just like the one Sattler wears to put up her waist-length hair.
“Without (Sattler) I don’t know if we would have made it,” Rothrock said.
She and Sattler agreed that above all, however, they must place emphasis on good food.
“If it isn’t, when the tourists aren’t here, the locals aren’t going to support you,” Rothrock said.
She went in the back and began making a cheesecake. She said she’s happy she tried something new.
“I’m having a good time with this,” Rothrock said, as she worked the mixer. “This is a different kind of busy. There’s something about being busy on your own schedule that’s really satisfying.”
The doorbell rang again, and for a moment Rothrock didn’t realize it. She’s become used to that sound.