Vegan ice cream shop owner aims to impact Philadelphia one scoop at a time
Customer favorites are known to sell out, and Michelle Alcaraz puts those profits right back into her community.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Meet founder Michelle Alcaraz of A Love Supreme Vegan Cream in Philadelphia's Mt. Airy section.
With every stir of the cream inside the bowl, Alcaraz pours a little more love into her creation.
The name of the Mt. Airy ice cream shop was inspired by Alcaraz's love of jazz great John Coltrane and his album that shares the same name as her company.
"It's one of my favorite compositions ever in creation," she said.
The name came after an inspired moment that began with a whimsical comment during a phone call.
"I heard an ice cream truck in the background. I was like, 'Oh! Is that a vegan ice cream truck?' And he said 'no,'" said Alcaraz.
That gave her an idea that began to grow with a lot of ideas and momentum.
She started her company in February of 2020, but then the pandemic hit.
"I had to be creative, just like everyone else," Alcaraz added.
That creativity took a double scoop of effort.
"In the beginning, we were doing only delivery," she said of the months the pandemic had shut down restaurants to customers.
Alcaraz drove her van around Philadelphia, delivering the vegan cream, which comes in seven flavors. She also figured out how to build a website and used social media to help spread the word.
"If it was the little joy I could bring, especially during the pandemic, I wanted to do that," she said.
Her products are now sold online and through partnerships with local businesses, including High Point Café, which sells A Love Supreme Vegan Cream at its location in Mt. Airy.
Customer favorites are known to sell out, and Alcaraz puts those profits right back into her community.
"I only purchase local blueberries. I only purchase local ingredients for some creams," she said.
To her knowledge, A Love Supreme was the first vegan ice cream company in Philadelphia owned by a Black woman. Her goal now is to share the love and finally get an ice cream truck.
"Hopefully, one day, I'm going to have that vegan ice cream truck," she said. "You guys are going to hear that ice cream truck coming through your neighborhoods!"
