Business Spotlight: Clever Cow Creamery Weathers the Winter

— by Margie Doyle —

Customers Flynn Hadden and his mom enjoy an ice cream cone and watching the snowflakes fall

The Clever Cow Creamery is a poster child for the Orcas Island businesses that are here, day in, day out, even through the dark, snow and power failures.

The Clever Cow opened a little over a year ago in the street-facing space of “Eastsound Square,” that had previously been occupied by GinnyLu Wood’s “WoodsCove,” and Mary Noesen’s art/print studio. Pollock spent four months remodeling the creamery. April Pollock, manager of the Creamery refurbished the area to be a “clean, well-lighted place,” even in the winter. And while ice cream is its keynote item — even on snowy winter days (see photo above)– warmth for the innards is provided with three types of soup, grilled panini sandwiches, bratwurst and of course coffee, during business hours. During the winter, that means from Thursday through Sunday, 12 noon to 8 p.m.

The Creamery is committed to stay open during the winter, even if it means toughing it out for several years. Pollock says, “People love it that our lights are on when it’s dark in the evening. I want to start something; if people come into town and see our lights on, they come in and tell me how happy they are that there’s a place open in winter.

“Tourist season is more than four months these days.The crowds aren’t here but the people are and it’s worth staying open because people still like to travel in winter. They want to explore but the town is empty because businesses are empty and dark.

“If I were to extend my hours and be open more, I would still have business because the people are here.”

For a business that’s just over a year old, Pollock says,”It was tough for me because I was doing 90 hours a week for seven months. That’s not typical for most businesses, [but the Creamery] was not a turnkey proposition.” The biggest challenge? “Everything was new for me —  running a business, training, ordering, cleaning, managing employees.”

While summer business was gangbusters with a crew of nine employees,in the winter Pollock, who’s the mom of a Orcas Island High Schooler, is at the shop most of the time. And through March, it is featuring a half grilled cheese panini, a cup of soup and a scoop of your favorite ice cream for just $10 (includes tax!).

Serving ice cream with a smile on a snowy afternoon last week, April said, “The best part of my work is seeing a kid lighting up with their ice cream and sprinkles. It’s a great business, who doesn’t love ice cream?”

April Pollack serving at the Clever Cow