Spirit of Kalamazoo aims for after-theater crowd

Ice cream and spirit gear for local colleges and high schools will be for sale at Spirit of Kalamazoo, the latest business to join the Kalamazoo Retail Incubator.

Andrew Widner and his wife Kathleen came up with the idea to open an ice cream shop one evening as they strolled downtown and realized there was no place they could stop in for that kind of treat. Being from Plainwell and big fans of Plainwell ice cream, they decided to offer to open a business of their own.

The Widners chose a location next to the parking ramp that serves the Rave movie theater on Portage Street and have been excited to see the amount of traffic that comes and goes.

Andrew Widner recently offered a tour of the new location. He pointed out where the ice cream case would be, where the shirts and other gear would go, and further plans for the 1,000-square-foot space. The patio offers about 600 square feet and the Widners envision diners eating ice cream outside attracting more customers inside.

Andrew Widner, a WMU grad, brings a financing background to the business. He will continue in his current position with PNC. Kathleen Widner has a marketing and real estate background. She will manage the shop. They expect to hire two to three employees, depending upon demand. They hope to open in August.

As part of the incubator program, the couple has been paired with a mentor from the Nature Connection, which sells similar merchandise, and has received advice from the SBDTC that helped focus their business plan. Now that their business plan has been approved they will receive discounted rent for the duration of their time in the incubator.

The retail incubator is a program of Downtown Kalamazoo Inc. and is headed by Rob Peterson.

Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Andrew and Kathleen Widner, Spirit of Kalamazoo