Dreams become reality with second Greenville creamery location

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Caitlin Clare Hayes grew up working at an ice cream shop in high school and college in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.

Now Hayes, owner of Clare’s Creamery, an Overbrook neighborhood ice cream shop, is anticipating the opening of her second location in Greenville.

Hayes went to college for marketing and logistics, because she knew she wanted to do something in the business world. Getting back into the ice cream industry had been a dream of hers, but she didn’t necessarily know at the time how to make that dream come true.

“During COVID I had a ‘what am I doing with my life’ moment,” she said.

That’s when her husband, Michael Hayes, pushed her dream to fruition — starting with an ice cream cart in May 2020. It was a side gig while she continued working in marketing until she quit that full-time job in January 2021 to pursue an ice cream shop, which opened that May.

“Working in the ice cream business was the best job I ever had, and I’ve loved ice cream all the way from 15 to 35,” said Hayes. “It’s a great place to be.”

About nine months ago, Michael Hayes decided to leave his full-time job to help with the business, which was a little scary for them, said Hayes.

“We knew once the business started, the goal was for us to work together, because if we are going to build this, we can build onto it together,” she added. “It was so helpful to have another person with a business background helping out, so we gave it a shot and it has worked out for us so far.”

After Clare’s went from an idea to an ice cream cart to a brick-and-mortar location, Clare’s is now gearing up to open its second location at 1901 Laurens Road. The new shop is expected to open mid-July, right before National Ice Cream Day, said Hayes.

The new location will be near the Parkins Mill neighborhood, an area Clare said is similar to Overbrook with a community-centered feel.

“We had opportunities to open in other places, but nothing felt like a neighborhood,” she said.

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As for the staff at Clare’s, they have hired mostly high school and college students who needed opportunities to gain work experience — a concept Clare holds close to the heart.

“I can only hope we give them half the experience I got when I was their age,” she said. “I hope we can be even a portion of the influence the ice cream shop I worked at gave me. We can provide a safe place for young people to work here and empower them to make great decisions. It’s a lot of responsibility to hire young people but we hope we can give to them what they give us as we rely on them to be successful.”

Hayes said they also try to partner with local small businesses to create different flavors and inclusions of their ice cream. For example, this summer they will partner with Swamp Rabbit Café for peach ice cream and Fork and Plough for cinnamon rolls to put in their ice cream.

“We love taking our local businesses, who have and make the best products, to make ours the best,” she said. “If we all rise together, our flavors are successful.”

Clare’s Creamery also does private events such as birthday parties and weddings with their trailer “Mint Chip.”

With 20 ice cream flavors on the “staples” menu all year, Clare’s will typically rotate in six seasonal flavors and both locations will have the same assortment. Dairy-free options are also available.

Two of Clare’s flavors were award winners at the North American Ice Cream Association Conecon convention, which they attend once a year, said Clare. Their winners were Clare’s chocolate ice cream, which won the equivalent to a first-place ranking, and their honey vanilla, which won the equivalent to a third-place ranking.

Hayes said the company may grow but probably not beyond Greenville.

“We want to really be a part of neighborhoods as we believe every neighborhood should have a neighborhood ice cream shop,” she said. “People ask us if we would franchise or go somewhere else, and the answer is no. In Cleveland, there are a lot of mom-and-pop shops that sell products and are content with being just in Cleveland, and I also want to stay local and be just in Greenville.”