Kasson ice cream shop enjoys ‘soft’ opening

Jay and LeahAnn Clemens have opened Clem’s Cups & Cones at the old Shopko on Highway 57 in Kasson, in what’s now called Plaza 57. The couple’s soft business opening was on Saturday, Sept. 12, and it was launched quietly.
“We turned on the open sign and let it go,” said Jay Clemens. “We were busy. It was steady all day.”
Clem’s is serving Cedar Crest ice cream, which is out of Wisconsin. They have soft serve ice cream, sundaes and specialty sundaes, root beer floats using 1919 root beer, flurries, specialty flurries, frappes, malt and shakes, smoothies, affogato (which is ice cream and coffee, for those who aren’t familiar) and a dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, no-cholesterol option called Dole Whip.
The Clemens even named dishes after themselves, with “The Annie” and “The Clem” being on the specialty sundae menu. The most popular item thus far from the new business’s menu is the “Peanut Butter Dream,” which is also a specialty flurry.
The couple has “deep roots” in Kasson, says LeahAnn Clemens, who is from West Concord. Her mother Sheryl Brekke (formerly Baker) was born and raised in Kasson and her grandmother Lucy Baker is a fixture here as well. And LeahAnn’s brother-in-law and nephew Kevin and Kegan Lubahn own and operate L&L Street Rods in Kasson.
“I feel like we have deep roots here,” LeahAnn Clemens said.
Jay Clemens said the couple searched for quite a while for the right location for Clem’s Cups & Cones. Finally, his brother and a business partner bought the former Shopko store on Highway 57 and redeveloped it into a mini mall. Jay and LeahAnn decided it was the perfect location for their new business venture.
“We wanted to be on a busy road,” Jay Clemens said, with LeahAnn adding, “We should be able to draw from the surrounding area; Kasson, Mantorville, Dodge Center and Hayfield.”
The couple is mirroring their ice cream shop after LeahAnn’s brother’s and sister-in-law’s ice cream shop The Scream in Owatonna.
The new business had steady traffic on Monday, Sept. 14, as well as on its opening day, with Derek and Natalie Gifford stopping in after hearing about the ice cream shop on social media. “We wanted to support local,” Natalie Gifford said.
Chuck Anderson, who lives in Mantorville, has been to Clem’s twice already. Once with his wife on Saturday when it opened, and a second time on Monday with his Kasson-Mantorville Lions buddies after they finished a project.
Anderson was initially drawn in by the “Open” sign in the ice cream shop’s window, he said. Then it was an easy decision to return a second time with his Lions friends.
The Clemens have hired all local kids to help them run Clem’s Cups & Cones. So far they’ve hired nine local kids, and their son Travis, to help out. LeahAnn took off work from her regular job at Mayo Clinic to help launch the business, but will be returning to her regular job in another few weeks.
 
The couple is searching for one more person to work part-time, Monday through Friday from noon to 4:30 p.m. Then they’ll be fully staffed.