Underground Operations
Uncovering Owner Josh De Leon's profitable ice cream model
Photos: Will Blunt
When you pull up to the pick-up window at Underground Creamery, Josh De Leon is on the other side, happily slinging ice cream to customers awaiting their pre-ordered pints.
For the past five years, Underground Creamery has operated on a weekly pre-order model; the ideal M.O. for De Leon. At the beginning of each week, De Leon and his team get to work producing three to four exclusive ice cream flavors—with occasional dairy-free options as well. The menu is shared on the Underground Creamery’s website and Instagram, and at the end of the week, sales go live. Customers have a short amount of time to choose their flavors and set up a pick-up time before the ice cream sells out. The options rotate every week—selling anywhere from $11 to $14 each—and De Leon and his team make a set amount of each flavor. Once an ice cream is gone, it's gone. “That way we’re not overwhelmed, and no one is overworking,” says De Leon.
De Leon says that his current model is more accommodating for him and his team in every way: from scheduling staff to keeping creativity flowing to creating a healthy work-life balance. “With a typical scoop shop, there's so much more overhead, and you have to keep it stocked with the same stuff or you’ll upset people. And there's a lot of dead hours.” With his current operation, De Leon only employs about three full-time employees. “Since the freezers are full and no one is making ice cream, we just have someone fulfilling all the orders.”
De Leon’s model is also great for his bottom line. With minimal overhead thanks to a shared production space with Baker Van Teamer of Pudgy’s Fine Cookies, no sunken labor costs, little to no product waste, and a healthy 900 to 1,350 sales per drop, Underground Creamery is thriving. “We are significantly more profitable than a lot of businesses.” De Leon is content with his business as of right now, and although a scoop shop might be the norm, he feels confident in what he’s built. “You have to have some sort of boundaries. I have a life, and my staff has a life.”
