Among the many ice cream shops in Lynchburg, craveABLEs stands out for its unique mission.
According to the company’s website, “Our mission is to create a positive impact by providing meaningful supported employment opportunities, promoting skill development, and challenging societal perceptions through our mobile ice cream truck and storefront location.”
The store opened in 2023 with the goal of employing people with intellectual disabilities. Taylor Perkins, a local special education teacher, made the decision to open craveABLEs when she saw the employment challenges her students faced after graduation.
“Myself and my co-founder saw the barriers that our students faced once they exited high school. Not only finding a job, but finding a meaningful, impactful opportunity,” Perkins said. “So, we decided to form craveABLEs.”
In just two years, the store’s impact has proven to be successful. While currently employing over 15 people with intellectual disabilities, craveABLEs also has a lengthy waitlist for those looking to join the team. Instead of letting their disabilities define them, the craveABLEs management team emphasizes their employees’ abilities and encourages them in their work. This mission is why they refer to their team members as “able employees.”
“People with intellectual disabilities are more resilient than any of us. … They have so many other abilities,” said Kaiya Wright, an instructional lead at craveABLEs.
Not only do the positions give employees work experience in a professional environment, but it also provides a space for them to exercise social interactions during their shift.
“Our employees look forward to any person that walks in the door,” Perkins said. “They’re excited to show their abilities and all of their job skills and serve them.”
This heart of service at craveABLEs ensures that the work environment is positive and joyful for the customers and staff.
“It’s so uplifting and everyone’s so friendly,” employee Hunter Jarman said.
The company also encourages their management team to join in on the mission of the business.
“I love seeing them working,” Wright said. “I want to help them. I want to help them achieve all of the things that they want to. … It just absolutely brings me so much joy to see them being so happy.”
The craveABLEs team has served many customers and employees through its specialty menu items, but the plan was not always to create an ice cream shop.
“We threw around different ideas,” Perkins said. “One was coffee. Then we talked about sandwiches, but we kept coming back to ice cream. … We would always celebrate exciting things with an ice cream party at school. Also, who doesn’t love ice cream?”
The business is located at 2608 Lakeside Drive. Due to an electrical fire Sept. 21, craveABLEs temporarily relocated to Mission House Coffee in Cornerstone. However, the store’s grand re-opening took place Saturday, Oct. 18, according to WSET. craveABLEs continues to contribute to Lynchburg’s ice cream scene in a meaningful way.
“Who knows what the future holds,” Perkins said. “We’ve had people reach out about opening their own craveABLEs in different cities, so we hope to just be able to employ as many people as possible.”
The store is open 1-9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 1-6 p.m. on Sundays. They also have a mobile ice cream truck available for booking through their website.
Perdew and Storey are feature writers for the Liberty Champion.