SERVE & GROW
New owners of downtown Ben & Jerry’s franchise make mentoring their mission
“We are developing the franchise and real estate, but most importantly, we’re developing people.”
– ANTONIO MCBROOM, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF PRIMO PARTNERS
The new owners of the Ben & Jerry’s scoop shop in downtown Chattanooga are serving up opportunity and mentorship for Black entrepreneurs along with ice cream.
“Our vision is to continue to grow the Ben & Jerry’s franchise and learn more about real estate ownership and development while we continue to create opportunities for Black entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color,” said Antonio McBroom, the co-founder and CEO of Primo Partners, a development company based in
North Carolina. “Our goal is to serve as an example of ways that folks coming from disadvantaged backgrounds can be successful.”
Primo has eight Ben & Jerry’s franchises in the Southeast — four in North Carolina, two in Georgia, one in Tennessee, and one in Texas. The franchise owners also are planning to soon open another location in Tampa, Florida.
Phillip Scotton, who co-owns the franchises in Atlanta and Athens, Georgia, also will co-own and oversee the Chattanooga location.
“Our team loves the Chattanooga area and is so happy to be joining the amazing businesses on Broad Street,” he said.
Primo was born when McBroom was entering the University of North Carolina and took a job scooping ice cream at a Ben & Jerry’s shop near the Chapel Hill campus.
“They told me, if you get hired, you get a free milkshake every
shift,” he said. “That solidified my decision.”
By his senior year in 2008, McBroom was managing the shop, and had fallen in love with the progressive culture and mission of the company. As the economy was spinning into crisis, McBroom and his friend and business partner Eric Taylor offered to buy the shop from the owner. At 21, they became the youngest owner/operators in Ben & Jerry’s history.
It was clear to the men that owning and developing businesses was a powerful way to also develop people and share their success, McBroom said.
“We really enjoyed the mentorship and education part of the business,” he said. “We are developing the franchise and real estate, but most importantly, we’re developing people.”
Scotton started with the company as a marketing intern, and McBroom became his mentor.
“He did such a phenomenal job as an intern, he became our business partner in Atlanta,” McBroom said.
Scotton opened shops in Atlanta and Athens over the past two years before adding the Chattanooga store in July. The shop had been closed a few months, and pandemic might seem like a strange time to buy and open a business, but the move fits Primo’s philosophy, McBroom said.
“During times of crisis, bad companies fail, good companies survive, and great companies improve,” he said. “We’re going to use this time to invest in our key leaders and managers’ abilities.”
Primo offers a range of coaching and personal and professional development for employees, from an Outward Bound kayak trip through the Everglades, to help with student debt repayment and financial coaching for employees to support them in achieving their goals, McBroom said.
“We emphasize financial literacy, work with our managers to get a handle on debt management and student loans,” he said. “As our members grow with us, we try to coach them on real estate investments, and we’ve successfully done that with several team members over the years.”
Scotton reopened the downtown Chattanooga Ben & Jerry’s in early August after a threemonth closure, and he’s been encouraged by the response, he said.
“Folks are really happy to see us reopen the business and have been coming back in,” he said. “We prioritize customer and staff safety, but even with limited seating we’ve got a fantastic leisure area right in front of the store and we’re looking at what we can do to expand outdoor seating and dining options.”