A fairly new addition to Natick’s list of ice cream stores, Maggie and Milo’s is a delightful local ice cream and hot dog business tucked next to the Charles River Coffee House in South Natick. Maggie and Milo’s, which is actually under the same ownership as the coffee house, is in its third year of business. It struggled with staffing and hours last summer, but has made a huge rebound this year due to the hard work of its two new 19-year-old managers.
Natick High School alum Thea Beattie and Dover-Sherborn High School alum Cecilia Fielding had worked for Maggie and Milo’s for two summers and Charles River Coffee House for a year prior when Steve Cote, the owner of both stores, asked whether they would manage Maggie and Milo’s.
On the management fast track
Last summer, Maggie and Milo’s had struggled due to a lack of hiring. Being short-staffed made it so that they couldn’t be open as late, as often, and as consistently as they wanted. Closing at 8 p.m. rather than this summer’s 9 p.m. meant that they missed out on the teenage demographic, and sporadically shuttering due to a lack of workers made the public lose confidence in the shop’s hours. Cote knew that the shop needed some changes, so he passed management over to the two college students. Their past expertise and new ideas have paid off this season.
Beattie and Fielding studied for and passed a food safety test so they could work with things like sanitizing solutions and food temperatures, but their years of experience working at Maggie and Milo’s taught them most of what they needed to know for the position. They already understood how the shop worked on a logistical level. More than that, they identified the aforementioned causes of the store’s lack of success last year, as well as ways to remedy these woes.
Their first task was hiring; a lack of staff was the root of Maggie and Milo’s previous problems. In past years, Maggie and Milo’s shared staff with Charles River Coffee House. Anyone who was hired for one store worked for both in a free flow of workers. This year, however, Maggie and Milo’s has its own full set of staff, none of whom have worked for the store before.
Beattie and Fielding had to train all of their staff from scratch, but said the staff are all doing really well. Many workers are younger high schoolers at their first-ever job, which lends the store a sense of youth and excitement. The increased workforce quickly solved some of the business’s past issues: it is now open until 9 p.m. rather than closing at 8 p.m., and it serves food all seven days of the week instead of closing on Mondays. Additionally, the store has never had to close for the day this summer due to a lack of staff. They have only closed early for thunderstorms, as they are a window store.
Beattie and Fielding took on the tasks of marketing and building a larger social media presence, despite these jobs not being part of their manager position. They’ve created an Instagram page and a website, put flyers around town, and posted on Nextdoor. These updates have been incredibly helpful for bringing in new business. For instance, someone posted about Maggie and Milo’s on Nextdoor recently, and the shop saw an influx of customers that very day. In addition, their Instagram page has helped develop transparency and trust in their hours, as one of the managers will post on the page when they have to close or alter their hours during a thunderstorm. Further, the store has seen an increase in the number of teenagers and young families they attract this year, which is due in part to these marketing and social media initiatives.
Work’s paying off
Beattie and Fielding are relieved and proud that their work has paid off: they love when “we see [customers] come back, and it feels like we’re actually making a difference.” Neither of them currently studies business in college, but this summer’s experiences and successes have led them both to consider it. Managing a business is more fun than it seems, Beattie said.
In addition to the changes already in place, Maggie and Milo’s has further plans to expand their offerings: they hope to start selling homemade lemonade, and have plans in the works for a special dessert in partnership with the Charles River Coffee House. The “Charles River Mud Pie” will be a chocolate chip muffin top from the coffee house topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and finished off with hot fudge, whipped cream, and other treats.
But the food is not the only thing that Maggie and Milo’s has to offer. The managers covet the shop’s sense of friendliness. Fielding said, “I’ve never felt the love that I do this season. It just feels so homey, and everyone is super friendly, all the staff and all the customers. It’s just, like, happy to me.” One way they develop this sense of friendliness and community is by making an effort to listen to and follow through on customer requests, like the flavor of the week. According to Beattie, being a small, family-owned business offers them the flexibility for this, as the shop is bound to its customers rather than to a corporate checklist. “It’s definitely the definition of a small business,” she said.
Maggie and Milo’s friendliness and status as a local business mix with its location right next to the park and waterfall in South Natick Center to create a special summer vibe. In speaking about this, Fielding described a quintessential summer scene: smiles spread over children’s faces as they eat ice cream by the waterfall or in the park with their families, listening to happy music play. “It’s summer in a feeling,” she said.
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Nice to hear things are looking up. One suggestion that may bring even more support: when you have a help wanted sign in the window of the coffee house, and neighborhood kids express an interest and leave their contact info, repeatedly, follow up with them to let them know you’re not interested. Don’t give them the silent treatment. And don’t keep the help wanted sign in the window.