Gareth and Sarah Eddy are the proud new owners of Ice Cream Charlie after the business went up for sale in June.
The more than 100-year-old business also changed hands in late 2019. Over the past few years, it has been operating at Victoria Square, Sumner and the Christchurch Farmers’ Market at Riccarton Bush.
Ice Cream Charlie has been around since 1903 when the relatively mysterious Sali Mahomet set up a cart in the south-east corner of Cathedral Square.
Little is known about the origins of Sali or “Saleh” (pronounced “Sah-ley”, meaning “pious”).
Family lore says he was born Mohammed Khan in about 1866. There are also tales about his childhood in Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan, where it is said he was harassed by Cossacks.
On his marriage certificate, Sali gave his birthplace as Ceylon.
Sarah told Morning Report buying the business was a bit “left field” for the pair.
“Gareth and I are long-time Charlie fans. We both have childhood memories of being taken into town for a special ice cream with our parents and grandparents.
“When we saw it come on the market, we were saying ‘I really hope it gets snapped up by someone who can give it the time, attention and love it deserves’.”
After a few discussions between the pair, Sarah and Gareth realised they could take it on, and decided to email the agent selling it which landed them in “a bit too deep”.
“Before it was too late to turn back we were like ‘oh, it’s ours’.”
The pair have since schooled themselves up on running an ice cream business and taken annual leave from their jobs to spend time with the old owners to “learn the ropes”.
It’s not just the ins and outs of running an ice cream business the couple had to study, there was also learning how to make the ice cream using a traditional recipe from 1903.
Sarah explained there is “loads of compliance to work through” but the couple are now in the ice cream-making phase.
“We made our first batch of ice cream, it’s actually not a quick process. It takes 48 hours before it’s even at a position to get it in the freezer.”
The ice cream has traditionally been made in central Christchurch, but the site has been sold so Sarah and Gareth have moved production, including all the equipment, to near where they live in Kaiapoi, and they will also sell to the public from there.
As for the best flavours, Sarah said the “standard vanilla ice cream with a bit of raspberry, a spot of cream and some chocolate chips” is what Ice Cream Charlie is known for. The couple are also keen to develop new flavours.
-Additional reporting Star News
