The Ultimate Bribe
MaggieMoo's Opens at Eastview Mall

By Debra Ross, Publisher, KidsOutAndAbout.com

For months, I have despaired of my very-soon-to-be-3-year-old becoming interested in potty training. Her conviction seems to be "Why on earth would I trouble myself? Diapers are an easy, convenient, no-stress alternative." That attitude may serve her well as a marketing director some day, but with all kinds of experiences here in Rochester that are available for the potty-trained-only, I don't want her to miss out.

I think, however, I've found the solution. MaggieMoo's has just opened up in Eastview Mall, Victor. (Opening day: April 7, 2004.)

Don't get me wrong, bribing is not my customary means of encouraging my children to develop new skills. But in certain cases of notable achievement, we all want to celebrate. And often it's looking forward to the celebration of the accomplishment that gets kids over the final hurdle to get it done.

I was privileged enough to be invited to MaggieMoo's as Peter Short, owner, and his team were readying the store for its opening day. For me, it was an interesting exploration into just what happens behind the scenes of a unique ice cream idea. For Madison and Ella, it was a bit of a glimpse at fantasyland.

MaggieMoo's isn't just ice cream, it's an experience. The ice cream is not trucked in from some central location; the MaggieMoo's crew makes the over 40 flavors of ice cream fresh in the store each day. (Skeptical that making it fresh could make a difference? So was I until I tried the most heavenly pistachio ice cream I'd ever had.) But ice cream is far from the end of the story: Customers can then choose from a wide variety of candies, fruit, and nuts, and watch as it is hand-blended with the ice cream they've chosen, to create their very own custom ice cream confection. Click here for a list of ice cream flavors and the treats that can be mixed in. (For you Atkins fans, in the back freezer I also glimpsed a low-carb variety that I didn't see on the official list on their web site.) The girls had Cotton Candy and Yellow Marshmellow, and I tried Pistachio and Cake Batter (not together). I think I also counted almost a dozen different kinds of chocolate ice cream.

The first MaggieMoo's opened in 1989 in Kansas City and the idea of the MaggieMoo's "ice cream treatery" quickly spread throughout that area. In November 1996, MaggieMoo’s International, L.L.C. purchased the assets of the chain and, with significant capital and management expertise, overhauled the concept, Treatery design and marketing programs. There are now over 100 MaggieMoo's treateries around the country, and they are rapidly expanding (they expect over 1000 to be open by the end of 2007).

Peter, currently the owner of the only MaggieMoos franchise in Western New York, has been extremely active in the greater Rochester community in the months preceding the opening of the Eastview location. He has developed partnerships with Build-A-Bear and the Rochester Raging Rhinos, among other organizations, to provide the ice cream cakes for their parties. And word has it he'll be providing plenty of giveaways through KidsOutAndAbout.com!

MaggieMoo's is now open in the Bonton wing of Eastview Mall. It's an ideal location, just "down the street" from the new shops and stores in the new wing in front. The Mall seems like the right place for just such a venture: plenty of traffic and folks who are there for fun and entertainment. But MaggieMoo's is such a neat place that not only will the mall bring plenty of new customers to try this unique treat experience, but MaggieMoo's may well bring more people to the mall. It certainly will bring us more often! (Especially if Ella is successful soon!)

P.S. Click here for a printable Maggie Moo's coupon (in Microsoft Word) worth $1 off your order from April 7 - April 11.

©Debra Ross, 2004
All rights reserved.