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ROBERT LEE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Paul Abdul-Raymond and his staff show up with an ice cream trailer to serve classic cones with customizable toppings, ice cream sandwiches and seasonal specials.<\/p>\n
Customers affirmed his career pivot from the start.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first month we were in business, I could see how much people appreciated what we offered,\u201d Abdul-Raymond said. \u201cIt was instantaneous. I had no regrets.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Classic Scoop served ice cream at more than 40 events from the start of May to the end of September last year, building a roster of clients that includes the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the Children\u2019s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba and United Way Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s bright pink, six-metre-long, 2.5-metre-wide trailer is on track to do even better business this summer.<\/p>\n
Abdul-Raymond has also started a second business. In April, he opened Cedar Creek Coffee, a 70-square-foot caf\u00e9 nestled in the lobby of an office building at 1020 Lorimer Blvd.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever the Classic Scoop made last year, I reinvested into Cedar Creek Coffee,\u201d he said. \u201cI always think it\u2019s important to reinvest in yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Running two businesses has led to numerous 16-hour days lately, but Abdul-Raymond is comfortable with hard work. He worked at his father\u2019s business for many years, spending 12 years in post-secondary education along the way. He earned two undergraduate degrees and a master of science before studying to become a doctor.<\/p>\n
By the time he finished medical school, he realized he wanted to go into business rather than pursue clinical practice. He worked as a pharmaceutical consultant before landing a job at a health-care company that creates blockchain solutions.<\/p>\n
Abdul-Raymond operated as the head of business development, collaborating closely with the company\u2019s C-suite while working remotely from Winnipeg. The job required domestic continental and international travel every two weeks and 20-hour workdays were common, even when he was at home.<\/p>\n
Eventually, the whirlwind pace caught up with him. In his mid-30s, he started experiencing cardiovascular issues \u2014 chest pain that showed up intermittently over the course of several months.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was really no differentiating factor between on and off the clock,\u201d he recalled. \u201cAs much as I loved working for the people I worked for, I realized at a certain point that it wasn\u2019t really a tenable plan to continue moving forward with that job.\u201d<\/p>\n
With his wife and two young children on his mind, Abdul-Raymond resigned. By that point, he had already been dreaming about running an ice cream store. Opening a brick-and-mortar shop wasn\u2019t feasible, so he purchased his trailer and opened the Classic Scoop.<\/p>\n
The Classic Scoop has five casual employees and Cedar Creek Coffee has three. Abdul-Raymond plans to build the companies into legacy businesses that his children can take over some day.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t ROBERT LEE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Abdul-Raymond, owner of the Classic Scoop, left a lucrative but stressful job at a health-care company to get his business going in spring 2025.<\/p>\n If they do, they\u2019ll be third-generation ice cream retailers. When Abdul-Raymond\u2019s father was a child, he sold ice cream on the street to help support his family.<\/p>\n Abdul-Raymond\u2019s story of leaving the corporate world to start his own ice cream business isn\u2019t uncommon, says Stephen Christensen, who has worked in the industry for more than 25 years \u2014 first in his native Australia and now in the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cWe get a lot of people like that,\u201d said Christensen, executive director of the North American Ice Cream Association. \u201cI think it\u2019s a mix of the uniqueness of the industry and the joy that it brings, coupled with people\u2019s memories and experiences of (eating) ice cream.\u201d<\/p>\n Based in St. Louis, Mo., the association represents around 2,000 members. It doesn\u2019t keep data on how much revenue the ice cream industry generates annually, but Christensen says business is booming.<\/p>\n (Canada\u2019s dairy industry as a whole generated $9.15 billion in revenue last year, according to statistics from the federal government.)<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t The ice cream industry is not recession- and pandemic-proof, but in times of economic stress, people still find money to spend on ice cream, Christensen said.<\/p>\n \u201c(When) people are putting off the trip to Disney\u2026 a trip to the ice cream shop is like a 15-minute vacation,\u201d Christensen said. \u201cThings are generally a lot better after a couple of scoops of ice cream.\u201d<\/p>\n Abdul-Raymond agrees. He says that the best part about running the Classic Scoop is bringing joy to children.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you serve them ice cream and this big smile blows up on their face, it\u2019s probably one of the most satisfying parts of the job,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Aaron Epp Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. Read more about Aaron<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Aaron produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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