>> AFTER WORKING FOR TEN YEARS AS AN ENGINEER, JIM INGRAM
LISTENED TO THE ENTREPRENEURIAL VOICES IN HIS HEAD AND THOUGHT
ICE CREAM. HIS DAD HAD SPENT HIS CAREER IN
ICE CREAM, AND HE'S CONTRIBUTED MIDLY TO THE SUCCESS OF JIM'S
NEW VENTURE, MT. TOM ICE CREAM. CONNECTING POINT INTERN T.J.
HANNIGAN AND DAVE FRASER TAKE US TO EASTHAMPTON FOR THIS MAKING
IT HERE REPORT. >> I DECIDED TO DO SOMETHING
DIFFERENT, AND I HAD A LOT OF THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT THAT MIGHT
BE, AND IT LANDED ME IN ICE CREAM.
I HAD ALL THIS ENGINEERING BACKGROUND, AND IT JUST DIDN'T
SEEM LIKE SOMETHING THAT I SHOULD DO, BUT IT WAS SOMETHING
THAT I WANTED TO DO, SO, THIS IS MY CHANCE TO DO SOMETHING
DIFFERENT. I CAN DO IT FIVE YEARS, IF IT
DOESN'T WORK, AND IT WAS A GOOD EXPERIENCE, SOMETHING THAT I CAN
WRITE STORIES ABOUT, AND GO BACK TO ENGINEERING AND DO SOMETHING
ELSE, AND THAT WAS TEN YEARS AGO.
WHEN I DECIDED TO DO MY OWN SHOP, I HAD THIS IMAGE IN MY
HEAD OF WHAT MINE WOULD LOOK LIKE, AND IT WAS OLD FASHIONED,
HARDWOOD FLOORS, HIGH TIN CEILINGS, THAT KIND OF THING,
AND I HAD A FRIEND OUT HERE IN WESTERN MASS, AND I TOLD HER
WHAT I WAS THINKING OF DOING, AND SHE SAID I KNOW A GUY, AND
THE NEXT MORNING I CAME BY TO LOOK AT IT, AND I LOOKED IN THE
WINDOW, AND AS SOON AS I SAW IT, I JUST KNEW THAT THIS WAS THE
SPACE. NOT REALLY BEING FROM THIS TOWN
I DIDN'T THINK THAT IT WOULD BE AVAILABLE.
I THOUGHT THAT THERE WOULD BE 15 THINGS CALLED MT. TOMS, AND
THERE WASN'T. SO IT JUST MADE SENSE, AND CAME
UP, MY FRIEND CAME UP WITH A COOL LOGO, AND NOW, PEOPLE DON'T
HAVE TO SAY MT. TOM'S ICE CREAM, THEY JUST SAY MT. TOM, AND A LOT
OF PEOPLE CALL ME TOM, BUT I ANSWER TO IT BECAUSE -- WHEN I
FIRST FOUND THIS PLACE, ALL I HAD TO DO WAS BUILD A KITCHEN IN
THE BACK. IT WAS JUST A DARK CLOSET, SO
BOUGHT ALL THE EQUIPMENT, AND THE MAIN THING TO MAKE ICE CREAM
IS A BATCH FREEZER, AND THE ONE THAT I HAVE IS A 20-QUART BATCH
FREEZER, SO IT MAKES TWO OF THE BUCKETS IN MY SHOP.
BASICALLY, FIVE GALLONS AT A TIME.
SO, YOU TAKE THE RAW MIX, AND ADD FLAVORING TO IT AND PUT IT
INTO THIS FREEZER AND WHAT IT DOES IS SLOWLY CHURNS IT AND
FREEZES IT UNTIL IT GETS TO THE POINT OF 28 DEGREES, AND KIND OF
LIKE SOFT SERVE CONSISTENCY, AND WILL COME OUT OF THE BARREL AND
I WILL ADD OTHER GREENS TO IT AND PUT INTO IT A BLAST FREEZER,
AND THAT OVERNIGHT WILL FREEZE IT TO 20 BELOW ZERO TO GET RID
OF THE ICE CRYSTALS AND MAKE IT CREAMY, AND GREAT, AND THEN THE
NEXT MORNING, YOU WARM IT UP, AND IT'S READY TO SERVE.
>> A LOT OF THE FLAVORS THAT THEY HAVE ARE TRADITIONAL.
AND I HAVE ABOUT 45 FLAVORS THAT I HAVE ALL THE TIME.
COOKIE DOUGH, CHOCOLATE CHIP, AND ALL THE THINGS YOU EXPECT IN
AN OLD FASHIONED CANDY STORE, AND THE NEW AND SPECIAL FLAVORS
THAT I MAKE HAVE A ROTATING AMOUNT OF, A NUMBER OF FLAVORS,
PROBABLY CLOSE TO 200 AT THIS POINT, THAT I HAVE COME UP WITH
OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS. NORMAL STUFF, AND SIMILAR
ADVENTUROUS FLAVORS LIKE LAVENDER AND ROSE AND CARDAMUM
AND STRAWBERRY, BASIL, NOT THINGS THAT EVERYONE WOULD WANT
BUT THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE WOULD LOOK INTO THE MENU AND SAY,
THAT'S INTERESTING. I REALLY WANT TO TRY THAT.
THE FLAVORS COME FROM A LOT OF PLACES.
SOMETIMES I WILL JUST SEE IT, BE IN A CHECKOUT LINE, AND SEE
THAT, AND A SEA SALT CANDY BAR, I COULD MAKE A FLAVOR OUT OF
THAT, OR WE HAVE A DISCUSSION JAR IN THE SHOP.
THE TYPICAL CUSTOMER, I USUALLY DESCRIBE AS KIDS OF ALL AGES.
IT'S ALL RANDOM, ANYONE WHO LIKES ICE CREAM.
WHEN I WAS A I HAD CAN, I USED TO GO TO AN OLD FASHIONED CANDY
STORE IN MY HOMETOWN, AND WE WOULD GO THERE, AND THE MEMORIES
THAT I HAVE ARE SO POSITIVE, AND TO BE ABLE TO BE THAT FOR
PEOPLE, AND FAMILIES NOW, IS JUST AWESOME.
THAT'S WHY I LOOK FORWARD TO COMING TO WORK EVERY DAY.