When ‘Y Not Ice Cream & Smoothies’ opens for the first time Tuesday morning, it will be the culmination of a 15-year dream and a 20-year friendship. Co-Owners Katherine Meek and Donielle (Doni) Sites each were ready for ‘something new’ in their professional lives.
Sites had been a manager at a construction firm. Meeks is the owner of Anytime Fitness franchises in Mattawan and Stevensville—next door to their new business in the Martin’s Plaza on Cleveland Avenue.
Meek owns the building in which ‘Y Not’ will operate. Her Anytime Fitness gym has been there for over 13 years. She’d been looking for a tenant “for several years”, when she decided that a shop selling healthy Smoothies would be the perfect complement for her Anytime Fitness customers, as well as shoppers at nearby Martin’s Super Market.
Meanwhile, her good friend Doni Sites was dreaming about owning her own ice cream store. And she thought Stevensville would be a good spot for it. “I’ve wanted to do an ice cream store for 15 years,” says Doni.
The two women put their ideas together and ‘Y Not Ice Cream & Smoothies’ began to take shape. “It’s perfect”, says Katherine, “We’ve got something that’s ‘good for you’, as well as something that’s ‘just good’.”
For the ‘just good’ part, Doni points at their Hershey’s Ice Cream. It’s a legacy brand around the country and she says it’s especially good for classic flavors. Doni relates that they were recently sampling ice cream flavors with a friend who fancies himself as a “butter pecan connoisseur”. His reaction? “That’s the best butter pecan I’ve EVER had!”
‘Y Not’ will also feature some special ice cream creations. On weekends, they’ll feature the Red Coach Donuts Ice Cream Sandwich, recognizing another one of Stevensville’s ‘sweet spots.’ Various types of Red Coach Donuts will be featured each week and customers may choose the ice cream flavor they put between them. And there’s another creation called a ‘Silver Beach Sunset’ that tastes like an orange dreamsicle.
An item that’s expected to be especially popular is the ‘Ice Cream Flight.’ Katherine says, “Just like with beer or wine, it’s SO hard to choose, so we have a ‘flight.’ We’ll have four flavors, each in a ‘taste’ size, two ounces. There are SO many good ones!”
She also notes that for her health-conscious clients at Anytime Fitness, ‘Y Not’ will sell 1st Phorm brand nutritional supplements and utilize them in special recipe Smoothies.
Unlike most ice cream stores, ‘Y Not’ will be open early in the morning for Smoothie customers. 7am-8pm M-F, 9am-8pm Saturday, Noon-8pm Sunday.
Contact ‘Y Not Ice Cream & Smoothies’ at 269-208-3175 or YNot5651@gmail.com
