Glenwood ice cream competition heats up
Staff Writer
Screaming for ice cream and screaming at the dentist are two entirely different emotions. After 40 years of dentistry, Joe Haas chose to trade pain-stricken screams for the other, gentler kind.
Thursday, Haas opened Marble Slab, which is a national ice cream franchise, in downtown Glenwood. For more than 10 hours, Marble Slab had a steady stream of customers, said Haas.
Based out of Texas, Marble Slab has 380 stores located in 28 states and in Puerto Rico. Colorado has three other Marble Slabs, including one in Edwards.
Marble Slab serves more than 40 flavors of homemade ice cream and several kinds of homemade waffle cones.
Haas said the quality of his ice cream sets Marble Slab apart from the five other already established ice cream stores in Glenwood.
“I’m not concerned in the least about the other ice cream stores because they can’t compare with our ice cream,” Haas said. “I’ve also got the best location, and in business the name of the game is competition and it all comes down to location, location, location.”
Opening a business in the middle of downtown is lucrative, but demand for ice cream in Glenwood is big enough to support several ice cream stores, said Shana Engel, owner of Dairy Kreme.
Dairy Kreme is a local ice cream, hot dog and hamburger stand that’s been around since 1955.
Engel said Dairy Kreme’s location, which is near several hotels including the Hotel Colorado, is advantageous because it gets traffic from tired tourists who don’t want to walk or drive to town.
“I think Marble Slab will be good for the town, and I hope they do well,” said Engel. “People should be able to choose whatever they want to eat.”
Roger and Beverley Garing have owned KaleidoScoops, an ice cream co-op, for 17 years.
Garing doesn’t feel threatened by Marble Slab because he’s seen 15 to 20 ice cream stores in Glenwood fail.
“I’m not worried because this is a busy time of year and there’s enough competition for everybody,” said Garing.
Since Marble Slab opened, KaleidoScoops sales have increased, not decreased, Garing said.
Haas says he thinks he has the best store.
“If anyone can compare to me,” Haas said, “then God bless ’em.”
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