Clare’s Creamery

Small Business

From sharing her homemade ice cream with her family across their kitchen table to now serving the same scoops to the Overbrook neighborhood in Greenville, Caitlin has always had the desire to open a community-based business that serves as a hub for the area residents.

Her women-led, Greenville-based business, Clare’s Creamery, was inspired by her time working at a small-town family-owned ice cream shop in Ohio.

“The owners cared a lot about the community we were in and I learned a lot from them,” She said. “While working there, I started dreaming about how I could one day create a business of my own that held the same community-focused values.”

Last year, Caitlin started selling her ice cream batches to the Overbrook neighborhood in Greenville out of a frozen cart. This year, she will be expanding her women-owned business into a brick and mortar.

“We are excited to be in this neighborhood and establishing ourselves as a community-focused business,” she said.

South Carolina ranks as number 4 in the nation for women-owned businesses. There are about 170,000 women-owned businesses throughout the state, according to Greenville Business Magazine.

“Finding financing for a food-based startup during a global pandemic was difficult,” she said. “If we did not find South Carolina Community Loan Fund, I’m not sure where we would be. We are thankful and grateful.”

South Carolina Community Loan Fund financed Clare’s Creamery through its small business loan program. The organization is dedicated to serving people of color, women, low-income individuals, and those in rural communities.