Sydney Newton, a former server who lost her job during the pandemic, birthed a new business from spending quality time with her kids in the kitchen.
The entrepreneur used to work at The Capital Grille, an upscale steakhouse, before COVID-19 forced the world to shut down for safety concerns, according to Afro.com. Like most restaurants during that time, her previous employer could no longer host guests, which caused them to let go of their employees. A new stay-at-home mom, she focused on her children’s education as it turned into virtual learning sessions to ensure their success. Since there wasn’t much for people to do besides watch TV or take a walk in the park, she decided to start making ice cream with her children as a fun activity to pass the time.
Although the mother of two initially wanted to keep herself and her kids entertained, she began to thoroughly enjoy creating different types of ice cream.
“They loved it, and I did too. I loved that you could do so many things with ice cream. You can experiment with flavors, textures, smells and colors,” she told Afro.com. “We started delivering the ice cream to my sister and my mom, and they told me I should put it on Instagram to deliver it to more people, and we did.”
After creating an account on the platform, their new hobby turned into a small business, Sydney’s Ice Creams, that will now have a physical home. Until her storefront opens, the businesswoman is offering local community members ice cream two out of seven days in the Belair-Edison neighborhood at 3432 Belair Road. Some of the flavors available are Roasted Cherry Cheesecake with Biscoff Cookies, Chocolate Espresso with toasted meringue and Biscoff cookies and a dairy-free lemon sorbet called Winter Citrus. She’ll also be adding new ice cream options to her roster to get feedback from patrons. The grand opening is expected to take place on April 1.
“I think something as fun as an ice cream shop where people can come together and enjoy each other’s company is what the neighborhood needs,” she said. “I think it’s going to help revitalize the neighborhood, and hopefully it will encourage other business owners to come into the neighborhood.”
She received help for her brick-and-mortar from a community real estate development manager for Belair-Edison Neighborhoods, John Watkins, whom she met years ago when Newton began the hunt for the perfect location to house her ice cream parlor. As a real estate investor, Watkins locates potential properties to give a facelift so businesses can live on Belair Road. For the Baltimore native’s new venture, his reality group provided $280,000 worth of rehab at 3432 Belair Road for Sydney’s Ice Creams. In addition, they included a kitchen hood so she could expand her business to offer baked goods as well.
“I think it will definitely impact the neighborhood in a positive way. We have about 50 businesses on Belair Road, and Sydney’s ice cream parlor is the first of its kind,” she said. “A lot of our residents want to be able to spend money in the neighborhood that they live in. I think it’s going to be a great addition.”
Since 65% of the 18,000 residents who live in the community own homes, he believes it’s proof that people love the area.
“To be able to go to an ice cream parlor—a brand new facility at that— and get your ice cream or your baked goods is a blessing,” she said. “I think it’s also a great opportunity for employment where she could hire some of the youth to work in the store.”
Growing up there wasn’t an ice cream shop that modeled what Newton would bring to her neighbors so she’s happy to be providing something she would’ve loved to experience herself.
“I’m excited to have my ice cream shop so close to so many schools and to see kids come in after school and be treated fairly,” she said.
