Westside Creamery is a mobile dessert food truck that has been in business since 2013. When Debra and Llew Eastern first purchased their food truck, they were originally looking to open a gourmet popcorn and homemade bakery business. After evaluating the potential to become Atlanta’s first full-service, mobile dessert vendor, Debra and Llew purchased Westside Creamery, re-branded the business with their personal touch, and began operations under the existing Westside Creamery logo. Today, Westside Creamery bolsters an intricate menu with their variety of unique homemade pound cakes, root beer and coke floats, and additional options such as a self-serve ice cream sundae bar for wedding services.
Retired from their full-time corporate roles, and in addition to scooping up ice cream, Debra and Llew both serve as educators. Llew is an adjunct instructor for Atlanta Technical College while Debra is an Adjunct Professor at Union Institute and University (UIU) in Ohio; both teach virtually online. Priding themselves on their amazing customer service, their unique element of mobility, and their artisanal hand-dipped ice cream, Westside Creamery is constantly being catered for corporate and private events, TV/movie productions, teacher appreciations, and of course, festivals. Most notably, Westside Creamery has served at Tyler Perry Studios as well as Pinewood Studio, home to 12 of the 22 Marvel movies.
After becoming a local community favorite, Westside Creamery began looking for business consultants and guidance that could help them further solidify their brand. It was at this time that Westside Creamery partnered with the Atlanta MBDA Business Center in order to participate in Invest Atlanta. The Eastern’s quickly realized the benefits that Invest Atlanta offered to small and growing business. After attending Invest Atlanta’s seminar, Westside Creamery quickly enhanced their business plan and learned about various opportunities for community funding.
Westside Creamery was also recently accepted as one of six out of sixty companies to participate in the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) program. They participated in their first ICIC seminar in December of 2020 where they attended lectures on building capital, effective branding, and strategic positioning. They participated in breakout sessions and received follow-up consultation for specific areas related to the food service industry. Llew and Debra also noted that they have participated in smaller workshops offered by ICIC on handling the coronavirus pandemic for small businesses in food servicing.
“The [ICIC] seminar in December was actually mind-blowing. To be chosen to participate in this resource information forum facilitated by professionals representing financial, academic, and business arenas across the nation was invaluable. I’m extremely happy to be a member of the Atlanta MBDA Centers and see all that they are doing to ensure the success of businesses such as ours.” – Debra Eastern
Growth remains on the agenda for Westside Creamery. In the near future, they plan to expand into a brick-and-mortar while continuing their mobile food presence, and Westside Creamery has partnered with Atlanta MBDA Business Center client T. Dallas Smith & Company to work with them through this process. During the summer 2020, Atlanta Eats Magazine nominated Westside Creamery amongst Atlanta’s MOST outstanding Black-owned restaurants in the mobile dessert category. They are honored to have received this prestigious recognition. As a seasonal company (March thru November), Westside Creamery’s event calendar is already filling up through midsummer. To learn more about Westside Creamery Desserts, make sure to visit their website, www.westsidecreamery.com, and follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
