Editor's Note: The Eastern Echo staff meets regularly with interesting people on and off campus. Engage in those conversations with us through our weekly Q&A report. This week, we talk with Seun Awosika, the owner of Candy Coated Creamery.
Candy Coated Creamery, an ice cream parlor on North Huron River Drive across from the Trinity Health urgent care building, has had a busy year. Since launching the shop over Memorial Day weekend in 2024, the owners have added eight new ice cream flavors, and several new employees have joined the team, according to Ypsilanti local Seun Awosika, who started the shop with the help of his nephew and girlfriend.
Awosika mentioned that the Strawberry Crunch shake, which is topped with whipped cream, fresh strawberries, golden Oreos, cookie crunch and a full Strawberry Crunch ice cream bar, is one of their most popular items and has helped garner social media attention.
Q: You had almost ... two decades experience before this, running a hair salon? Is that right?
Seun Awosika: Yeah, I've been here in this location for 15 years. I had a chance to see three different classes come in that ... went from freshmen to seniors. I've been in this location since 2009. I had a daughter who got diagnosed with brain cancer [in] 2022, and she's cured and is in remission. She's doing well; she actually works here a few days a week. So, I had shut it down around that time, and then, when she was done with treatment, she told me, you know, reopen it, get it back open. You know, it's a been a blessing.
Q: And you're open year-round?
Seun Awosika: We will be closing just for about five weeks. We're closed the last day in November and then reopened the first week in January.
Q: On [Facebook], there was an image of a line of customers outside the shop [last August] ... How big of a role has it [social media] played in promoting this?
Seun Awosika: A tremendous amount of our customers, I'll say about 90% of our customers daily, are new customers. ... So it has to be the social media effect ... the fact that people still come in, and they take pictures of their shakes and their nachos, and their family members hold their shakes or whatever they're indulging in. They like to take pictures and, you know, it's a vibe.
Q: Do you have any new promotions or events coming up?
Seun Awosika: We will be doing a Sweetest Day shake where we'll be doing a Chocolate Strawberry Lover's shake. We definitely have a five and below menu for students as well as the public. ... You can get two scoops of vanilla or chocolate for five bucks, any float for five bucks. Italian ice is another five. We just hope the community knows we're here.
Q: What percentage would you guess is maybe EMU students that eat here?
Seun Awosika: Since they've been back, I'll say it's about 20 percent of our sales. ... I love the community; I grew up in Ypsilanti. You know, I graduated from Ferris State. I love the college town vibes, you know what I mean? I spent a lot of time in downtown Ann Arbor as a child. So, I mean, I'm all here for it, you know? We meet a lot of interesting people, a lot of fun people. ... It's a diverse community. Everybody's friendly, everybody's welcoming.
Q: Do you see, at any point, if things continue to go well, opening another location?
Seun Awosika: Right now, we're focused on this location, but we're always open to building and providing more for a bigger community. But we're just perfecting what we're doing here. ... We don't pay for reviews; those are strangers that have got us at a 4.9. ... They love what we're doing, and we're putting a different take on dessert. We freestyle a lot of things, and there's really nothing we won't do for a customer.
Q: What's your favorite thing on the menu?
Seun Awosika: My favorite things are the frosted lemonades. We use mango Italian ice, [then] we add vegan black cherry and strawberry lemonade and mix all three together.
Q: What's been your experience working here so far?
Justin Awosika: It's been great. ... It's really been crazy to see the reception from the community. I can see all the good reviews we get, just people's reactions. Like, when we give them their ice cream, their little treats and stuff, it's just a completely different experience.
Q: Do you plan to work here long term?
Justin Awosika: Yeah, I mean, I've been here since this started. We're really doing something different. I'm just excited to see where it goes in the next few years.
Q: What was before this? What's your educational or professional background?
Justin Awosika: I was in college, and I was working at Amazon, and then I left there and I came here. I've been the manager, so it's like every day has its challenges, but we always get through it.
Q: What kind of challenges?
Justin Awosika: Just like, time management and things like that, and keeping track of the temperatures. Replacing different foods. A lot goes into it.
Q: Is there anything else you wanted to share about your experience or the store in general?
Justin Awosika: We want everybody to come out and see what we're about.
Candy Coated Creamery is open from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The Sunday hours are 2 to 9 p.m.
