When Bonnie Fisher first approached her husband, Kevin Fisher, and her brother and his wife, Richard and Rhonda Meldahl, with the idea of opening up an ice cream shop and deli, they all thought she was crazy. But the idea grew on them, and now the two couples are the proud co-owners of BReaKeRs in Harmony. “The more we got into it, the more exciting it got,” Richard said. The siblings and their spouses had originally been looking to buy houses to flip as a winter project, but couldn’t find anything that appealed to them. The realtor they were working with mentioned that the Sugar Plum House, a small ice cream and gift shop, was on the market, but they weren’t interested. “Food was the last thing everyone wanted to get into,” Kevin said. But Bonnie was hooked on the idea and persistent, soon winning Kevin over, followed by Richard and Rhonda. “They strong-armed us,” Rhonda laughed.
As soon as they arrived home from a joint vacation in January, the Fishers and the Meldahls jumped right in with the renovations. They gutted the building, redid the floors and walls, replaced appliances and cabinets, painted, and more. They added several tables inside the building to provide indoor seating along with the colorful outdoor tables on the patio. A bike rack was also added for the summer months when bikers stop by. Bonnie quit her full-time job to focus on BReaKeRs, but the other three kept theirs, working weekends and nights to get everything ready for opening.
On April 6, BReaKeRs opened its doors to the public with a grand opening that was well attended. The weather cooperated, and it was so busy that there was a line at the counter for most of the day. Since then, business has continued to go well. “We’ve got regulars,” Bonnie said. “It’s been busy.” They anticipate that things will pick up even more as they move into warmer weather. “We’re right at the end of the bike trail so we’re anticipating more traffic in the summer months.” Kevin noted.
The Fishers and the Meldahls did more than just change the name from the Sugar Plum House to BReaKeRs and renovate the building. They decided not to sell gifts and knick-knacks, but they added a deli and cold brew coffees to the ice cream shop which features Bridgeman’s ice cream. The Amish Tours with Rich Bishop are still available for booking at BReaKeRs.
They recently added breakfast sandwich options and sliders for kids to their menu after receiving requests from customers. “We’re making improvements off of customers’ suggestions,” Kevin said, adding that they will continue to do so in the future as well. They’ve also been receiving a lot of compliments on the breads that they use for their unique sandwiches such as cranberry wild rice, reuben marble rye, sour dough, and butter croissants. BReaKeRs will be open year round, and so they also have plans to possibly add paninis and soups to the menu during the winter months.
BReaKeRs is more than just Bonnie, Kevin, Richard, and Rhonda’s project. “Our family’s been amazing helping with things,” Bonnie noted. “Our friends have been helping here too.” While BReaKeRs doesn’t have any official employees yet, Sue Fischer, Mindy Broadwater, and Sheila Meldahl have all been pitching in to help run the shop. Salinah Ritter did the signage for BReaKeRs, and Paula Ritter helped paint. Kevin and Bonnie’s daughter Stephanie came up with the name design, with the four capital letters in BReaKeRs each representing the first initial of one of its four owners, Bonnie, Richard, Kevin, and Rhonda. Bonnie expressed how thankful they all are to the former owners and now neighbors of the shop, Jeff and Barb Soma. “They’ve just made this so easy and so wonderful,” she said.
The Fishers and Meldahls have also been amazed at the support shown to them by other local businesses, many of whom came to the BReaKeRs grand opening on April 6. “That’s been unexpected,” Richard said. Of course, the Fisher’s grandkids are the most impressed with their grandparents’ new business venture. “Our grandkids love us. We own an ice cream shop,” Bonnie laughed.
BReaKeRs is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. Orders can be placed over the phone, through the walk-up window, or at the counter. To find out more about BReaKeRs, visit them on Facebook or call (507) 886-7263.
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