The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Sundae Funday hoping for great start
Sundae Funday in Columbia Station is gearing up for a great season of ice cream, pizza and mini golf.
“We were supposed to open April 1, so we just postponed that a little longer to a couple of weeks ago,” said Caree Hayden, owner of the business at 25145 Royalton Road. “We were thinking about the opening right before things started to close down, and the other factor was not knowing much about the virus impact.
“If you don’t know how it spreads or happens, you are more reluctant until you get that information. I was just like, I don’t want to be a part of it. Also, financially you have to do what seems right in that situation.”
Hayden said the novel coronavirus is not the only factor that has hampered business.
“If this weather would get better, it would be much better,” she said. “Anytime it’s sunny, we’re very busy.
“We have had a lot of good support from the community, also. It’s been here quite a while ... I’ve been an owner for about eight years now. I had so much fun with my first job here that I wanted to come back and do it myself.”
Hayden said then business has good variety.
“We have pizza, ice cream and 18 holes of mini golf,” she said. “We also always have the walking trails here with the (Lorain County) Metro Parks which adds to it.
“It’s good being on the Metro Parks property; we work together on a lot of things. We are a separate entity from them, but we work with them and we rent from them. So, even for reopening, we need their approval.
“Everything is six feet away. We put our picnic tables out yesterday; it was just the first two to see how it goes. We are also all wearing masks.”
Hayden said the pandemic has made people focus more on how clean a business is.
“We are of course doing all of the cleaning to make sure everything is clean,” she said. “It’s something that we normally do anyway.
“I know that is something people like to hear now, but it is what we would have been doing anyway. It’s good they want to hear it, but it’s all the stuff you should’ve already been doing, especially in the food industry.”
Hayden said customers have a good choice for their ice cream.
“We have our parfaits, which is probably one of our more popular items,” she said. “As far as flavors, if I have it, and you want it, you can have it.
“We do mainly chocolate, vanilla, and twist soft serve. We have the hard pack options as well. We have eight flavors, and you can have a mix of as many of those as you want.”
Hayden said Columbia Station has been a good place to do business.
“It’s great, we have a great local community,” she said. “I might be a little biased because I grew up around here.
“It’s great when you hear the support and see the support, and when they are sad that you have to postpone the opening. But, everyone has been very understanding.”
— Caree Hayden, owner of Sundae Funday
“We are of course doing all of the cleaning to make sure everything is clean. It’s something that we normally do anyway..”