FARMINGTON -- Pedal Pops is a new business in Farmington that started eight years ago from the seat of a tricycle.
Michael Thompson, who started the business in Bentonville, said he was an accountant for 22 years and lost his job. The next day, he opened Mikey's Ice Cream LLC, which soon became Pedal Pops.
"For 22 years I wore a suit everyday and now I can wear a t-shirt and shorts," he said.
Pedal Pops, located at 169 W. Main St., offers all natural frozen fruit pops that are created on site. Choices include ice cream pops, fruit pops, boozie pops and frozen pops dipped in chocolate or Greek yogurt.
Thompson said he started eight years ago with three tricycles. The front of the trike is a large, freezer box with a wheel on each side. This is attached to the rest of the tricycle.
Thompson pedaled around Bentonville selling his popsicles.
After a year in Bentonville, Thompson said he decided to move to Fayetteville for the college crowd. He shared a kitchen with a person making kettlecorn and then decided to purchase property for his business.
Fayetteville was a little on the expensive side, he said.
"We know Farmington is a growing area as well and that there's not a whole lot of variety going toward Prairie Grove," Thompson said. "This would offer more variety. People see us going to and from Prairie Grove."
Thompson bought the Farmington property with two buildings in July 2018. He tore down one of the buildings and gutted the other structure before making major changes.
The inside of the building was changed to move the main entrance from Main Street to the side of the building. He installed a kitchen for his creations and a counter with stools for customers.
In addition to the Farmington store, Pedal Pops can be seen at the Fayetteville Farmers Market on Saturdays and also at lots of different events and festivals. Thompson uses a food truck to travel to events and also still uses his tricycles on occasion.
Owning a business has its ups and downs, Thompson said. What he's enjoyed the most has been the challenge to come up with different flavors for his frozen pops.
His goal is to use as much fruit as possible without using a lot of other ingredients. Two new flavors include blackberry pineapple mango and baked apple pie. One flavor he's toying with is a pickle pop. This would not be frozen pickle juice but he said he would puree the pickles to make the pops.
"It's very intensive," he said.
He also invites customers to bring in their own ingredients and he would create a new, personalized flavor for them.
Thompson said he plans to develop the vacant lot next door but is still working on a final concept. The Farmington Planning Commission recently approved his request for a variance on front, side and rear setbacks. One idea is to repurpose a new storage container as a building for a start-up business or retail space. He would like to have a covered deck on top that could be used as a meeting place.
"That would give a place for people to gather," Thompson said.
General News on 10/09/2019