Big Support For Closing Fredericton Milkshake Business
FREDERICTON— Julia Gilliard, the owner and founder of Fredericton’s gourmet milkshake business The Shake Shed, did not expect to receive as much support as she did from a single Facebook post.
In that post last Wednesday, she announced her plan to close the business — just over three years after opening.
Gilliard has been tossing the idea around since last year when she learned she’d be having her first child.
“We wanted to give it a full year and it was just a little over a year when we sat down, had the conversation again, and I was just like, ‘this is not what I want anymore, things have changed for me,'” said Gilliard. “My life has changed drastically and I really would like the opportunity to focus on raising our little guy.”
The decision to close did not depend on if she could balance both an ice cream business and a newborn, but on what she wanted to focus on. When she had her baby in March, she was still running the business with her husband, who was doing the majority of the work.
“He was kind of running things as much as he could, but it’s just like the time and energy and focus that I used to be able to put into it, I just found that I wasn’t able to anymore.”
The two decided to go through the summer season before making any final decisions.
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The day she made the announcement, Gilliard joked with her husband saying out of all the photos she had taken of their signature shakes, this post would be the one with the most interactions. That turned out to be true.
While their regular shake-sharing posts receive an average amount of reactions, this one racked in 326 shares and hundreds of likes and comments. The comments are full of well-wishes and support for Gilliard and her business endeavours.
“So many people have commented and said really nice things and it was just amazing to see,” Gilliard said.
Once they made their decision public, Gilliard’s husband said to put her phone away for the night because he knew people would comment and tell her not to close. To avoid overthinking, she did that for the night. When she woke up the next day, the post had already close to 400 shares and loads of comments.
Since she made the announcement, the business’ sales have gone up.
Over the years of The Shake Shed, customers travelled from all over New Brunswick to try the place out. Some of the comments were people saying they have to try the ice cream treats before they can’t anymore. Gilliard thinks some of their recent sales have been from those visitors.
As for the future of the business, Gilliard wrote in the post that she would like to see someone new take the business over and they are open to selling it if there is interest. Since the post was published, she has received more responses than she anticipated from new, potential owners and is planning to meet with them.
Gilliard is looking for an easy transition, which is why she has not fully closed the business yet. If a closure becomes necessary, the upcoming winter months are the time to do it, but they are just waiting it out as long as possible.
Jessica Saulnier is an intern for Huddle in Fredericton. Send her feedback or tips: [email protected].