When Taryn Wynn and her husband, Pierre, honeymooned in Paris, little did she know that a wine making class would lead to the creation of Richmond’s newest ice cream workshop. Wynn said she enjoyed the workshop concept so much, she was eager to visit more when returned home, more specifically one focused on ice cream (her first job was at an ice cream shop). When she couldn’t find one, she created Sweet Wynns, which launched in May.
“My husband actually gave me the push I needed to start. After hearing about my idea, he purchased an ice cream machine for me to experiment with and I got started,” Wynn said. “I tried different recipes and worked on the overall flow of the workshop. I read different books on how to cater to the customer’s experience, researched ice cream history, and sought advice from family and friends.”
The couple hosted workshops in a shared kitchen in Midlothian before moving to their current location in downtown Richmond. Read on for Wynn’s advice for entrepreneurs, the most popular flavor and more.
1. What’s on the menu?
We offer ice cream making workshops where ice cream lovers can create their own vanilla or chocolate-based ice cream from scratch. While the ice cream churns, we also serve some of our in-house flavors. We have more specialty classes coming soon and we’ll be offering our kids workshops starting in December, which we’re very excited about.
2. What’s been the response so far? Most popular item?
The response has been incredible! We’ve received such an outpouring of love and support from the local community and beyond which we are so thankful for. Our most popular in-house flavor is a tie between our Bourbon Street ice cream (bourbon, brown sugar ice cream with caramelized pecans and butterscotch swirl) and our Cookie Jar Remix (white chocolate ice cream with Oreo and cookie dough chunks).
3. In what ways do you hope to see Sweet Wynns evolve?
I hope to see Sweet Wynns become a true staple in the community. Richmond is home to so many creative experiences so when discussing popular attractions, I would love to hear people say, “You can’t visit Richmond without seeing Sweet Wynns!”
We have also received tons of requests to sell our in-house ice creams, so we look forward to offering that by the summer. Initially we wanted to focus on just teaching people how to make ice cream, but as the demand has been so strong to take home our flavors, that is definitely something we’d like to do.
4. How does it feel to share your love of ice cream/history with others?
My excitement truly is beyond words. One of my favorite parts of the class is sharing little known ice cream facts with our ice cream makers and watching the surprise and curiosity wipe over their faces. Ice cream has always taken me to a happy place and being able to share that with others has been so rewarding.
5. How do you juggle Sweet Wynns and working full time?
It is very difficult because I have to give my all to my full-time job and I also need to be present for Sweet Wynns. That is the main reason that we’re only open weeknights and weekends. I’m hoping as we get more staff, we’ll be able to expand our hours, but for now this is the best way I can manage everything.
6. What is your favorite part about being an entrepreneur? What’s the most challenging?
I love being able to do what I love – that to me is the best part about entrepreneurship. I was able to create something that I wanted to see and do – what is more inspiring and beautiful than that?
The challenge is the time. I have a family and a full-time job. It’s hard to balance everything. I feel a lot of mom guilt and also wife guilt (if that’s a thing) but my family constantly encourages me. There’s no way I would be doing this without them beside me.
7. What is your “why” for doing what you do?
Growing up, I thought it would be so cool to see my name on a building. Like if my parents or grandparents created something that would someday pass on to me and my family and our names were all over it. I wanted to create something like that for my children which is why I made sure to include “Wynn” in the name. I want my children to know there are no limits on what they can do.
