‘It gives life to people’: Longtime Modesto restaurant-turned-nonprofit needs support
At the Ice Cream Company and Grill one recent day, employees bustled to take orders for milkshakes and sandwiches for workers on their lunch breaks and families with children on school break for the holidays.
The Dec. 21 afternoon was a snapshot moment of what the shop has done for Modestans since 1979, filling them with memories along with ice cream and sandwiches as people behind the counter grill, scoop, blend and serve.
But alongside the homemade flavors is a community working hard to support a mission and keep the shop from melting away.
Since 2019, The Ice Cream Company has functioned under a nonprofit called Enrich and Employ, providing jobs for those with barriers to employment.
“It makes jobs for people, it doesn’t just make ice cream,” Executive Director Bonnie Acree said.
Acree said the shop needs community support to become stable long-term. The pandemic took away customers and revenue, and it became more difficult to pay rent and the costs associated with the trainee program.
The store is stable after a year-end fundraiser. It raised more than the $16,000 they needed in part because of $5,000 donations from an individual in the community and CrossPoint Community Church. By bringing in more customers and donors, however, Acree hopes she can train people for years to come.
“It’s been overwhelmingly encouraging to see how the community has been — once they were aware of what our mission was, that it wasn’t just ice cream — that they have come out to support us, especially in the dead of winter,” Acree said.
Ice cream with purpose
Acree and her husband Corey purchased the Ice Cream Company, located in the Century Center shopping area off Orangeburg Avenue and Oakdale Road, around 2012 to save it from permanently closing. It was a special spot for Acree, who celebrated her 15th birthday there.
Almost from the beginning, the store served a second purpose. Acree felt strongly about the mission of Redwood Family Center, which provides resources to mothers struggling with addiction, and offered some of the women jobs. World Relief put the Acrees in touch with an immigrant learning English, and they offered him a job as well.
Acree’s sister Diane, who has Down Syndrome, later began working at the shop as well. Acree saw how much Diane loved wearing the same T-shirt as everyone else and helping out by cleaning the dining room.
“Just to see the change in her of her happiness and her self confidence makes me want to do it for other people even more,” Acree said.
Over time, the Acrees realized they could establish something more permanent, and in 2019, Enrich and Employ became a certified 501c3.
People who benefit from The Ice Cream Company’s model come for a variety of reasons. Some have a disability, while others are in recovery or are learning English as a new language. Trainees might stay indefinitely, but they can also use the position as a stepping stone for other employment opportunities later on.
Acree doesn’t see herself as an owner, instead preferring to think of herself as the nonprofit director. She said the shop is first and foremost for employees who need it.
“It’s the community’s ice cream shop,” Acree said. “It makes jobs for people. It doesn’t just make ice cream.”
Acree said she’s definitely seen an increased interest in the shop since being open about their financial strain, especially once people learn of the shop’s mission.
Several bicycle groups from around Stanislaus County decided to help.
Renee Bracamonte, who is involved with Mid Valley Pedals and Fourty Niner Faithfuls, said some of the bicyclists go in for food and ice cream a few times a week, but they knew they could do more.
On Dec. 16, Bracamonte’s husband and another friend dressed up as the Grinch and Santa Claus and stood outside The Ice Cream Company for families to take photos. The Bracamontes knows the shop can be easily missed because it’s relatively tucked away, which is why they’ve done a few events to point the community in the right direction.
Although the bikers love The Ice Cream Company’s food, Bracamonte said their belief in the mission is what really draws everyone to help.
“It’s good to support local businesses, but what they’re doing for others, that means a lot,” Renee Bracamonte said.
‘It gives life to people’
Ice cream manager Karri Gier knows firsthand how the shop can change lives.
“It gives life to people, myself included,” Gier said. “It’s not just ice cream, it’s about the people. The ice cream’s a topping, so to speak.”
Around the beginning of 2019, Gier was struggling with alcoholism following her divorce. She was struggling to find a job and felt her drinking would keep her out of employment.
Gier knew Acree outside of The Ice Cream Company, and she hoped Acree would be able to help. She explained her situation to Acree and asked for a job, promising to clean toilets or floors or whatever else it would take.
It was perfect timing for both women. Acree had just begun moving the company toward its nonprofit model to serve exactly the purpose Gier was looking for.
Gier was hired. She helped create the trainees’ program and now serves as ice cream manager. She is in charge of making all the in-house flavors coming up with all the seasonal and permanent flavors the shop offers.
Like many of the people who work there, Gier has formed a special bond with Diane. The two hug during work, and Diane sometimes shoots finger guns at her friend before walking away to do a task.
It’s another reminder that for the people who work there, the Ice Cream Company is a place of hope, friendship and opportunity. Their family is within those walls.
Seeing people come out to support the mission has been special for Gier. She knows Acree will be able to help even more people if the community buys this local ice cream.
“If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know what I would have done,” Gier said, “and I know that there’s more of me out there that need that hand up.”
