Sweet success: Sisters upgrade from ice cream truck to shop

PALMETTO, Fla. - After two years of making and selling small-batch ice cream out of a truck, two sisters fulfilled their dream of opening a brick-and-mortar ice cream shop earlier this year.

Ali and Mindy Converse are now the proud owners behind American Honey Creamery and Coffee Co. in Palmetto.  

"Hard work, faith, and family," offered Mindy. "Those are the key things that got us to where we are now."

American Honey Creamery is still a small-batch operation. The Converse sisters make all their own ice cream in six-quart batches. American Honey, a salted vanilla honey flavor, and Coffee Oreo are two are their biggest sellers.  

They offer over a dozen flavors and make signature sundaes, like the Ring of Fire. It’s honey vanilla ice cream on a southern biscuit with spicy Mike’s Hot Honey on top, then topped with homemade whipped cream.  

American Honey Creamery sources many of its ingredients from local businesses and farmers. Blueberries from Albritton Fruit Farms in Sarasota are used to make their lemon blueberry muffin ice cream and their dairy comes from a local co-op in St. Petersburg.  

"We’re from a family of dairy farmers, so it’s always been in our blood to work with a local dairy," Ali explained.  

INFO: American Honey Creamery and Coffee Co. is located at 4919 96th St E. in Palmetto. They are open Tuesday through Sunday.