J.P. Licks
J.P. Licks is an ice cream store chain located in and around the Boston area. Currently, it has a total of thirteen locations. In 1981, Vince Petryk opening the first location in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. The store is known for its quality and unique flavors.
Vince Petryk is from Philadelphia. He majored in psychology at Temple University, having originally planned to become a family therapist. He moved to Boston at the age of 26 after being introduced to the ice cream industry. He worked at Hillary’s Homemade Ice Cream store after college and as he moved up the ranks he became more and more aware of the emotional ties that comes with ice cream. He stated, "While at Hillary’s, I witnessed daily the power and magic of ice cream. I realized that ice cream connects you to some of the fondest memories of your childhood." He later got married and moved to Jamaica Plain which he would later call his “true emotional hometownâ€. He worked at Wendy’s hamburger chain as a manager and there he learned essentially all he needed to know before starting his own store. He started the business in Jamaica Plain with his partner Michael Herbert. They each invested $25,000 to start the store, but Herbert only remained part of the company for a couple years before Petryk bought him out for $100,000.
In 1999, J.P. Licks began roasting its own coffee in the headquarters in Jamaica Plain, with a wide selection of fair trade organic coffee and over twenty different coffee blends. J.P. Licks supports a community in Guatemala called the Trapichitos Community that handpicks and hand sorts the coffee. The growers decide the price and are paid directly to eliminate middlemen manipulation that often comes with growing coffee. The initial decision to make coffee was made by Petryk when Starbucks bought Coffee Connection and he was unimpressed by the quality of coffee in the Boston Area. He describes his coffee as "down the middle…dark enough for a hearty brew but not so dark that every bean tastes burnt". Also, depending on the store, J.P. Licks also offers breakfast goods such as croissants, muffins, cookies, cupcakes, scones and bagels. These are all made in the J.P. Licks headquarters.
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