Greetings, and welcome to this week's edition of Mad Maggie's Email Newsletter, The Scoop. Guaranteed to be fat free, sugar free, and organically grown -- heck, it came straight from my brain, so (if you believe some of my hecklers) it's certain to be in some measure derived from bull-something... ;^)

Traffic is definitely slowing down now that the kids are back in school, and the crisp fall temperatures are fast replacing our warm summertime ones. Fall has traditionally been a recharging time for us, as we've closed our North Reading store at the end of September each summer. With this new location, I'm not sure what the fall will be like, since we'll remain open for pretty close to the same hours as we have during the summer.

I'll miss the fall hikes that I've gotten into the habit of taking once the store closes, so I'll have to try to sneak in a few early morning weekend hikes before the really cold weather hits. Our little dog, Gizmo, sure could use the exercise!

The Task List Shortens

My task list around the store is definitely shrinking, as I've managed to devote a couple of nights to knocking items off my list. At this point:

• Our basement bathroom is complete, much to Maggie's relief (She's one of those nuts who refuses to use a "public" bathroom, even one as clean as ours normally is!)
• We've hung up some of our awards, as well as a few pictures, to help cut down on the echoes in our parlor room.
• Most of my supplies in the basement have been organized on shelves, although there are still a few to move around.
• Friend John H. lent a hand a couple of Saturdays ago and helped me to get our basement steps covered with rubber treads with non-slip strips, which has made our trips up and down the stairs a lot less treacherous.
• John also helped hang up our indoor menu boards, though I've still got to have the new magnetic labels produced for them.
• We've got both public and staff bulletin boards hung, to keep the posted notices looking a little neater.
• The lights above our inside counter have arrived, and been installed.
• Our hardening freezer is on site and running. The hardening freezer runs at -25 degrees F, which makes it a lot easier to make our ice cream quickly, and also helps us to freeze our ice cream cakes hard, so they won't melt as we decorate them.
• Our soft serve machine is at the new location, thanks to the help of another friend, Marty P, and we've had the electrician in to hook it up. I still hate the thought of selling soft serve next to our premium ice cream, but people kept demanding it. And on the bright side, we're using a premium mix, which not only tastes a lot better than what you'll find at the typical ice cream shop, but also allows us to actually *call* it ice cream, as it meets the legal definition by having 10% butterfat content. (Most other places use 3.5 or 5% mix.)
• I treated myself by installing a small TV set in my production room, so that I can keep an eye on the Red Sox or Patriot games when they're playing while I'm making ice cream.

I've still got a long list of things to be done, so it's not as if I'll be spending a lot of time sitting around reading the gossip pages. But it's nice to see things coming together and the place starting to look more like an ice cream store, and less like a neighborhood yard sale.

Scream Chamber

One of the odd behaviors we've noticed at our new spot is that kids, especially toddlers and infants, seem to *love* being in our parlor area, and seem to get a kick out of SCREAMING in there.

The high ceilings, and my slowness in getting some decorations up, seem to make it a perfect echo chamber, and the kids seem to love hearing their voices.

As we're working the windows, we'll hear a youngster screeching in the parlor, and we'll all get a chuckle out of it. I've got to work on getting some more decorations in place, so hopefully we'll cut down on the "reverb". And for now, the location is still new enough that hearing this is funny to us -- we'll see how fast the cuteness of it wears off!

The Only Game in Town?

I expected our customer traffic to slow down as the end of September approaches, but to my surprise, the opposite has happened -- we've actually been a little busier this past week or so than earlier in the month.

One couple at the window gave us some insight into what's likely happening: They told me that they live quite a distance away, but that they had passed three other ice cream shops on the way to our location, but they were all closed for the season, at least on weeknights. They also told me that now that they've tried our ice cream, they'll likely be passing those other stores even if they *are* open, so I was happy to hear that feedback!

A couple of the great things about the new store its prominent location, on a spot that's been known as an ice cream destination for a long time, along with our indoor seating area. We can hopefully attract enough area ice cream lovers, even when the weather gets colder, to keep our bills paid. I'm a little worried about cash flow through the winter, but hopefully we'll make it through, and the little unexpected boost at this time of year is most welcome!

So, if you're looking for ice cream, don't settle for that lousy supermarket ice cream! Come on over and enjoy a dish inside our warm, clean parlor!

Food Plans

A lot of folks have been asking us about our plans for adding food, so here's the skinny.

We're looking at adding coffee, and have found a Massachusetts based, organic coffee roaster. We'll likely have coffee within the next week or so. They have one blend that has a dark roasted taste, something like what you'd find at Starbucks, and another that's a mellower, less bitter blend, more like what you'd find a Dunkin Donuts, so we're planning to have those two, to hopefully appeal to those who prefer either of those other chains' coffees.

I'm also investigating hot chocolate options, and am torn between purchasing a simple "push the button" hot chocolate machine that most places seem to use, or one of the new Italian hot chocolate makers. These are a lot more stylish, and fit into our upscale coffee/gelato/pastry menu, *and* they reportedly make a much better product, but they're a little more work to keep filled and clean.

We're also looking at having two soups daily, along with a selection of freshly made sandwiches. I'm working on purchasing a panini grill, and while we won't have a *huge* selection of sandwiches, we'll have a handful of popular options that'll hopefully bring some lunchtime business in to our store. More updates to follow!

The Incredible Shrinking Steve

That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but each summer, I seem to lose around 20 pounds, as I spend a lot of time on my feet, and those 14 hours days have a way of keeping my weight off. Then in the fall, when the shop closes, I swear that I'm going to stay active, but inevitably as the weather cools, I fall into the routine of getting home from work, watching the nightly news, maybe an episode of Seinfeld, and whatever other trash is on the TV. A typical couch potato!

At the new store, our freezer and cooler space, as well as all of our raw ingredients, are located in the basement, but our production machines are on the street level, so every batch of ice cream involves 4 trips up and down the stairs:

• Fetch the ice cream mix from the cooler
• Another trip to fetch the ingredients for the batch
• Run the two tubs of finished ice cream down into the storage freezer
• Return the ingredients to their place on our shelves

If I'm thinking ahead, I can sometimes combine trips, maybe bring down the tubs of fresh ice cream and bring up the bag of ice cream mix for the next batch in one round trip, but it doesn't always work out like that, as there *always* seems to be something else to bring down, or something else to bring up!

All this running up and down the stairs is tiring, especially on busy weekends, but it's been good for me healthwise. I haven't actually weighed myself, but I'd guess I was already down 10 lbs or so this summer when we opened the new store, and I'd bet I've dropped another 10 to 15 lbs since then. My legs are getting a pretty good workout, and I know I'm down about two notches in my belt now. Don't get me wrong -- nobody is yet going to describe me as "slim", but I'm definitely feeling better with less weight, despite the complaining I do about those damn stairs!

Janae, my main production manager, has also received the benefits of our unintended workout plan, as she told me that her legs are also a lot stronger from all of the exercise, and that she's lost 6 pounds as well. She's young enough that I'm sure she recovers a lot faster than my tired old body does!

I'm interested to see how our year-round operation will affect my weight over the winter. We'll undoubtedly be making a lot fewer trips up and down the stairs as the colder weather arrives and the ice cream production slows, but hopefully I'll stay active enough that I won't re-gain the 20 or so pounds I've managed to lose!

Maybe I need to play up this health angle in my hiring of ice cream production helpers: Take this job, we'll work you so hard, you'll lose weight and build up some leg muscles!

Wildlife Update

In my last newsletter, I described some of the wildlife we've observed around the store. Our flock of wild turkeys seems to have taken a liking to the field behind our store, as we now see them almost daily.

The poults (that's the "official" name for baby turkeys) that just a few weeks ago were roughly a quarter of the size of their parents, are now nearly full grown. It's getting hard to tell the poults from the adults! I came out of the back door a few days ago to find the entire flock roosting on the stair railing.

I had planned to post a link to the photo of them here, but I can't find where I've left my digital camera. When I find it, I'll upload the photo, but check our August photo album for it: http://madmaggies.com/photos/albums/2007/August/

Flavor News

Chili Chocolate is one of those odd flavors that we don't sell a lot of, but if we don't have it in stock, everyone wants it! We made one batch late last month, and since it's been gone we've had a steady stream of people asking for it, so I whipped up another two batches this week. That should *hopefully* satisfy those spicy food lovers for the rest of the year.

It's a flavor that we need to be very careful in producing, as making the simple careless mistake of touching one's eyes or nose while still having the juice of the Habanero peppers on them could result in an unintended trip to the emergency room -- they're that hot!

We also had a flavor suggestion: Maple Cashew, with chocolate chips or fudge. That sounds interesting, so maybe I'll try that this weekend!

Staff News

Our kids are for the most part busy with school/sports/etc, and it's been a little tough to get enough staff scheduled for many of our weekend shifts. I had to read the riot act to them in their weekly notes this week, warning them that if they didn't start signing up for weekend shifts, that they were in danger of being replaced by others who could.

That's probably more "bark" than "bite", as I don't know that I could get rid of any of our great team of kids, but I had to scare them a little, and I *could* use more weekend help. So, if you know of anyone looking for a part time job on the weekends, please send them my way. I'm going to hire one or two who can work weekends, and give them fixed weekend shifts to make sure we've got the staffing to keep the customers quickly served during the winter months.

I did hire one "new kid" -- Shannon, who is the daughter of an old family friend. The last time I remember seeing her, I think she was about 9 years old, so I was surprised when she came to the store with her mom to apply -- these kids grow up fast! She's going to be starting a fixed Saturday afternoon shift this week, and we'll hopefully take it easy on her through the winter, with the idea that she'll be fully up to speed and ready to take on more shifts in the spring when our traffic picks up.

Newsletter Coupon

This week we have a very special coupon, open to anyone who works as a supermodel. Come to the store, bring a magazine that shows you on the cover (preferably, in a bikini), and we'll allow you to spend the day side-by-side with our lead ice cream maker.

That just happens to be me, but gosh darn it, for the good of the store, I'll sacrifice a day of my time to work closely with any supermodels who have a hankering to learn the intricacies of ice cream production.

(Sorry Giselle, I had to promise Tom Brady that I wouldn't extend this offer to you -- he's such the jealous type, and he obviously has heard of the magnetic attraction that chubby, middle-aged ice cream makers hold on supermodels. But tell your friends about it, especially those Victoria's Secret models who keep ignoring our pajama party.)

Just in case you're *not* a supermodel, here's the offer for you: Tell us you saw this coupon in the newsletter, and we'll upgrade your ice cream to a sundae! Pay for a small cone, get a small sundae. Pay for a kiddie, get a mini sundae. Pay for a medium cone, get a large sundae!