Pokemon Go Saves Struggling Independent Ice Cream Shop

Mad Hatter’s Ice Cream, an independently owned ice cream shop in Anacortes, Washington has seen its business go from struggling to positively booming–and its all thanks to the popular Pokemon Go game.

As luck would have it, Mad Hatter’s is located near several Pokestops, meaning that it brought in a lot of foot traffic of those looking to gain in-app points and prizes. Due to the hot summer weather, many people decided to buy ice cream in between catching and training their virtual Pokemon, ramping up the ice cream shop’s business tremendously.  [1]

The shop, owned by Gary Dear, had been struggling financially for a while. Although Dear said that Saturdays used to be his biggest days, a market ended up taking over the street and nearly covering his shop every week, drastically reducing business. And after all of the financial troubles Dear faced, he decided to close up shop for a little bit due to his ailing health, which resulted from his time in the Navy.

Read: Pokemon Go Reported To Help Players With Depression

But just two weeks after Dear reopened the shop, Pokemon Go exploded, bringing in customer after customer.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect it to end up like this. I’ve never seen anything take off like this,” Dear told King 5. [2]

He even jokes that the Pokey Light shines down on him.

Dear says that the proximity to Pokestops has doubled or tripled his usual sales some evenings. And although he enjoys the reboot his business has gotten, he also recognizes that many friends and family members are spending time bonding over the game and a cool refreshment from his shop.

He even says that people have been teaching him how to play the game, though he hasn’t stated whether or not he’s gotten in on the action.

Still, thanks to the game’s popularity and its contribution to the increase in his business, he is planning to name some of his creations after Pokemon characters and parts in the game. Next, players can look forward to enjoying Pokemon themed ice cream as they “catch ’em all.”

Sources:

[1] Huffington Post

[2] King 5