Emily Hanes Henderson ’16 Opens Gold Spoon Creamery

Opening Gold Spoon Creamery was a dream for both Emily and Nate, and the values that Emily learned while attending Saint Joseph Academy remain strong today.  

 

“I think SJA prepared me to open a business by always being reminded to love thy neighbor,” said Emily Hanes Henderson. “We pride ourselves in great customer service, and we do that by loving each person well who works for us, who comes in the door and whom we serve. It is an honor and privilege that people want to support us to begin with, and we want to make sure they have the best experience possible.”

 

Before opening Gold Spoon Creamery, Emily and Nate attended Ice Cream School in Idaho to learn not only how to make ice cream, but about opening and operating an ice cream shop. After attending Ice Cream School, the Hendersons came back to Blue Ash to start Gold Spoon Creamery with their business partner, Erin Fay. The name, Gold Spoon Creamery, comes from professional ice cream tasters who use gold spoons for tasting; this particular metal was chosen since gold does not have any flavor.  

 

Gold Spoon Creamery serves 16 all-natural ice cream flavors, four of which are dairy-free. Popular flavors include cookies & cream, chocolate fudge brownie, lavender and Saint Looey Gooey (a cream cheese-based ice cream with caramel swirl and vanilla poundcake).

 

“We tried to choose a few flavors that are classics, but also wanted to highlight some of our creative flavors and fun combinations,” Emily said. “The first ice cream we ever came up with and made at ice cream school is our "Take 4" ice cream. It is like a Take 5 candy bar minus the peanuts. It contains peanut butter ice cream, chocolate-covered pretzels and a caramel swirl. As much as possible, we make our ice cream with all-natural colors and flavors.”

 

Sustainability is top of mind to Emily personally and now as a business owner. 

 

“In my own personal life my husband and I try to live a low-waste lifestyle,” said Emily. “We started out by buying local when possible, going to refilleries for home essentials and recycling as much as we can. We wanted to make sure that even if we can't do all of that in the shop we at least try to lessen the waste that we create.”  

 

Gold Spoon Creamery's custom cups are made from post-consumer recycled materials, and the spoons and straws are compostable. For a dine-in order, a customer receives a ceramic bowl and (gold) metal spoons. Also, all taster spoons are real spoons. 

 

“We know that we are not going to be perfect, but we believe that even the small steps we are taking will lead to change in the future,” Emily said. 

 

While at Saint Joseph Academy, Emily made small steps leading to change that continues today. In 2016, Emily helped coordinate the initial Empty Bowls Project effort at Saint Joseph Academy. Students created more than 100 hand-painted ceramic bowls that were sold and then filled with the customers’ choice of soup. The fundraiser raised over $1,400 for the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. Today, the Empty Bowls Project continues at Saint Joseph Academy.

 

Next time you are in the Blue Ash area, stop by Gold Spoon Creamery to support a fellow Jaguar!