Tahoe Creamery expanding into larger facility in Minden
By Northern Nevada Business Weekly
The owners of High Sierra Ice Cream Inc., parent of Tahoe Creamery brand ice cream, faced a daunting decision near the end of 2010.
Tahoe Creamery had shut down in September 2010 because it ran out of working capital, and the investor group, headed by lawyer Garrett Sutton of Sutton Law Center, pondered whether to fire-sale the company’s assets, sell the business, or restructure management and try to bring the brand back.
They chose the latter, resurfacing Tahoe Creamery in February 2011. It wasn’t easy resurrecting the brand, Sutton says. Currently, High Sierra Ice Cream has placed pints in northern Nevada Scolari’s stores, and the ice cream also is served at Grand Sierra Resort, Tahoe Valley Campground at South Lake Tahoe, the Gear and Grind Café in Tahoe City, Susie’s Scoops in Incline Village, and certain 7-Elevens.
Tahoe Creamery has three full-time employees and is in the process of moving into a new 2,200-square-foot location in Minden. The company had been located in a small 800-square-foot space in Minden. The company uses Model Dairy as a distribution partner for the ice cream.
Sutton says Tahoe Creamery plans on releasing several new flavors by the end of the summer, as well as new packaging for the pints.
That whole Tahoe Creamery story seems to be a sad one. Greg Hoch, the founder of Tahoe Creamery, was allegedly forced out of the business by the controlling attorney during the meltdown in 2010, leaving Greg with nothing. I cannot speak factually to the rest of the story, but did work with them as a vendor and saw a very aggressive growth model occurring during the meltdown in this region of 2009. Beware the partner who drafts the contracts.
Christian, based on what I am reading here, which could very well be giving the wrong impression; Greg was left with what was left in the business: nothing. If Sutton had to recapitalize the business then he gets to make the decisons on personnel going forward. Thats just the way capitalism works.
Legal Shield attorneys have helped me with all my contracts for Golden Bear Events. They are great, and do not take any part of what I am doing. Their advice has been amazing;their price incredible. They don’t get into working capital, but if this really happened the way Christian says, that is truly sad.
John, You are so right. The attorney takes the high road and doesn’t speak ill of the former partner. If we only hear one side of the story, how can we possibly understand what transpired?
Living in Minden (small town), I understood the story on Tahoe Creamery to be that there were so many production management issues and manufacturing problems that the investors were quite unhappy with how much money was being spent to produce the ice cream. Because of mis-management on the production level, the investors decided to stop the bleeding and closed the doors. I think it is great news that Tahoe Creamery is making ice cream again, and it must be going well if they are expanding.
Greg, always the victim. Sierra Glenn FAILED, Tahoe Creamery (without investors) FAILED, Tahoe Creamery (with investors managed by Greg Hoch) FAILED
High Sierra Ice Cream EXPANDING. Who could blame investors for for reorganizing without Greg Hoch.
We just found the best place to find Tahoe Creamery ice cream if you’re at Lake Tahoe. We found the ice cream last year at a little spot near Kings Beach, but they don’t carry it anymore. So we began our quest to find that yummy stuff. We ended up at a place called Gear and Grind Cafe in Tahoe City and we hit the mother lode! They carry more flavors than we expected. We made three trips while we were staying at the lake. We can’t get enough!
I believe they are serving Tahoe ice cream at the new snack bar at Lakeview Commons.