A seasoned entrepreneur from North Carolina named Antonio McBroom has turned his passion for ice cream into a spectacular story of financial success thanks to his own ice cream shop. He started working as a scooper at a neighborhood ice cream shop, but today, he owns 15 Ben & Jerry’s locations across several different cities. This makes him the first person in the company’s history to hold the position of CEO of a multi-unit franchise group that is both Black-owned and led.
When Antonio was still in school, he started working as an ordinary employee at Ben & Jerry’s. This was the beginning of his adventure with the company. Moving forward in time to only a few days before Antonio was scheduled to graduate from college, he took a risk. He purchased his first Ben & Jerry’s store in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, which was an instant success.
Since then, he has grown his business to encompass 15 sites across Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, Florida, and Washington, D.C.
“I’m an ice cream connoisseur,” he declared to Spectrum Local News. “That was the primary factor in my decision to accept the position. My first job was as a scooper when I was a student at the University of North Carolina, and one of the bonuses of working there was that I got a free milkshake as my first item on the menu. Because of this, I have continued to use it ever since.”
But Antonio’s adventure isn’t over after he finishes his ice cream. In addition to that, he is the proprietor of a Starbucks franchise located in the southeast. Working with Ben & Jerry’s allowed him to come closer to his lifelong goal of becoming an entrepreneur, which he had always envisioned for himself.
It is a source of tremendous pride for Antonio to give back to the community, just as others have helped him. He leads a committed team that donates a portion of Ben & Jerry’s income from each of its 15 locations to assist new and burgeoning businesses that people of African descent own.
“Small businesses have a heartbeat for the community, and we’re plugged in in a way that a lot of large corporations can’t,” was what he had to say about it. “I’ve always been a supporter of local businesses, and I find that running my own small company gives me a lot of satisfaction.”
Being a Black entrepreneur comes with several obligations, one of which is simply demonstrating to others what is achievable. “I know that a lot of people growing up don’t see cases of Black excellence, and so for me to be a model, an example for folks in my community of just what is possible,” he continued. “For me to be a model, an example for folks in my community of just what is possible.”
