A slurping noise fills the air inside a small wood building on a Scott County farm.
It’s a gelato mixing machine.
Standing nearby are Beth Richardson and her husband, Philip Enlow. The couple owns Spotz Gelato. They hand make the frozen treat, and so far, have come up with 250 flavors that they sell at their five gelato shops in Versailles, Midway, Georgetown, Shelbyville, and LaGrange.
Beth says, “It's an Italian style of ice cream. The recipe is a little different. The ratio of milk and cream is different. So, it has less fat, it has more milk and less cream compared to American ice cream. It also has less air. So, the flavor comes through a little more in gelato than in American ice cream.”
The couple started making their own gelato after a vacation to Mexico and tasting the treat at a local shop.
Beth remembers, “After so many visits after every dinner during the vacation, we said what's the secret to the guy that owned it. And he said, well, it's not ice cream, it's gelato. And that was the first time we'd heard of gelato. And he gave us a description of what it was. And part of his description was that it was made fresh daily with local ingredients. And I thought, well, let's go home and try and make gelato.”
The couple spent many hours in their home kitchen in Scott County trying to perfect the look and taste starting with cookies and cream. At first, it was a hobby.
“So, we started taking it to family events and potlucks and things where you had to bring a dish and one too many people said you should sell it and here, we are today. Of course, things have changed a lot. I'm not making it in my home kitchen anymore. You know, we built a commercial kitchen,” according to Beth.
They took that big step after selling gelato from a food truck in 2013 and named their business Spotz Gelato.
In 2019, the couple opened their first gelato shop. Turning their gelato-making hobby into a full-time job was not what they had envisioned. Beth spent three decades in the real estate field, and Philip worked in the medical industry.
I asked Philip if he ever thought this is where he would find his passion, and he said, “not in a million years.” Beth says it was a big leap to invest thousands of dollars into a commercial kitchen.
“Just on the faith that what we were making was good and that somebody would want to buy it. And they did. Thank goodness, right? So, it all worked out in the end.”
She comes up with recipes with Philip’s help. “You know what you can find inspiration anywhere. You know, you go out to dinner, you have a fabulous dessert, and you think that my first thought is how could you make this flavor into a gelato? And so sometimes our flavors that we come up with are from other things that we've eaten or pairings that we've liked together.”
I asked what the weirdest flavor is.
Beth said, “Waffles and bacon. It really is good. You know, you've got that sweet. And who doesn't like to dip their bacon in the syrup? That's with the waffle, you know, but it's a weird one. Most popular right now? Cookies and cream or banana pudding? Either one.”
Philip shakes his head when I ask if making and selling gelato is a get-rich-quick deal.
He and Beth say they typically work 80-hour weeks during their selling season, from St. Patrick’s Day to Halloween. She handles marketing, staff hiring, and recipes. Philip is her taste tester and in charge of deliveries, the warehouse, and managing three food trucks.
He says, “I like the freedom. I like it. It's very rewarding because I know it's, you know, I'm able to make people happy. And it's just I enjoy it. I really do.”
Beth agrees. “You know, as a teenager, I had a job in a donut shop one summer. And that's the extent of my food service business, you know, when I was young, and so I never dreamed that this would be what I would be doing. But through a series of, of happy events, this is where we've ended up and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. “If you could ask anyone that runs any kind of business and it's a blessing and a curse. The buck stops here as they say, you know, ultimately we're responsible for everything that happens in every piece of product that goes out the door.”
The couple now in their fifties have been married for 25 years and like how gelato fits into their relationship.
Beth says, “Everybody wonders how you can work with your spouse on a day-to-day basis, and it's because we really don't see each other. He has certain jobs that he does, I have certain jobs that I do. And then we come together at the end of the day, just like normal people that don't work together.”
More about their gelato can be found at spotzgelato.com.
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