The Sweet Leap from Corporate Life to Business Ownership with Jeremiah’s

The success of the Jeremiah’s concept comes from a dedication to our mission to consistently create flavorful experiences for guests and staff while inspiring them to Live Life to the Coolest. It’s these experiences that keep our guests coming back for more – and in the case of Abbie and John Mirata, becoming two of Jeremiah’s newest franchise owners.

When Abbie and John moved their family from Orlando to Chandler, Arizona six years ago, it meant leaving everything behind: family, friends, loved ones and the familiar spots around town.

They yearned to bring a familiar, much-beloved brand from their Orlando community to their new home, and the place they missed most of all was a family-favorite and community staple – Jeremiah’s Italian Ice.

After they moved, they quickly realized how much they longed for the uniquely decadent flavors of our award-winning frozen desserts and had hopes of showing their community the sweeter side of life as franchisees, however, Jeremiah’s wasn’t franchising just yet, so they began discussing starting up their own business.

When Jeremiah’s announced the opportunity to be part of the hottest franchise concept in the coolest industry, Abbie and John leaped at the chance to join the Frog Squad and focused their efforts on bringing Jeremiah’s to their new home.

And with Jeremiah’s, the Mirata’s are taking advantage of a proven model that’s been perfected after more than two decades in business, featuring super simple operations and a uniquely delicious, high-margin product.

The duo opened their doors on June 2, 2020, and have been working hard to help their community Live Life to the Coolest ever since.

A Passion for Living Life to the Coolest 

Abbie and John didn’t have any previous restaurant experience, but their passion for Jeremiah’s combined with their sales and marketing experience made them the perfect cultural fit. By swirling their corporate experience and passion with our perfected operational systems and procedures, the result is one of the sweetest recipes for success you’ll ever find.

Abbie’s spent most of her career working in sales and people management in the home construction industry. Meanwhile, John has 20 years of experience in the IT industry and currently works as a project manager for a large financial institution. Being cool, bold, genuine, vibrant, generous and strategic is a key ethos of our brand and culture – and both Abbie and John clearly lived them throughout their careers.

For Abbie, the factors driving them to become Jeremiah’s franchisees lay in her passion for interacting and working with young staff and guiding them through the early stages of their professional development.

“Coming from a people-focused career, culture, in my opinion, is 85 percent – everything else is gravy after that,” explained Abbie. “Jeremiah’s is really focused on finding the right young people and teaching them about business, and we’re doing our best to carry that on in our store, as well as building on that foundation they’ve set and inserting our own little personalities into our Frog Squad.”

Meanwhile, John thrives on the strategic aspects of running a business and is working hard to put his background in project management to good use, along with his passion for cooking.

“I love the flavors, and I appreciate the time it took to really perfect those recipes,” said John. “It’s reassuring because we did look into starting our own business before Jeremiah’s was even ready to franchise. One of the biggest hurdles we would’ve had to overcome would be figuring out what our recipes are and how to market them.”

Although John and Abbie recognize the benefits of franchising compared to building a business from scratch. We’ve been keeping things cool with our incredible products for over 20 years – ensuring we’ve been able to perfect our brand and create simple, airtight operations for our franchisees. Franchisees get the support of an experienced, tenured team by joining Jeremiah’s, while benefitting from our high-performance potential, killer product and Culture of Cool.

With Jeremiah’s, Abbie and John can depend on unparalleled, infinite flavor combinations with our Italian Ice and signature Gelati treats that have inspired a cult-like following throughout the Southeast United States and beyond.

Scooping up the Perfect Team 

While looking for the perfect Frog Squad, Abbie and John went above and beyond with their interview process.

They asked deep questions and looked for integrity, work ethic and a desire to lift other people up, as well as our core values and an outgoing personality. And so far, their dedication to building a strong company culture and community-focused business has paid off – especially during a pandemic.

“I think that the community’s welcomed us really well to be honest. I mean especially during a time where everyone’s trying to stay safe wear a mask, stay at home – we still have regulars,” said John. “Once we first opened and customers were actually coming into the store, we had people coming in on a daily basis – it was actually kind of crazy. People are glad that we’re open.”

In fact, their location received the “Best New Business” and “Best Kept Secret” awards from the The East Valley Tribune – proving that the hottest franchise opportunity is keeping the Mirata’s community cool.

Leaping Towards the Future

While Abbie and John aren’t planning on opening up another location in the immediate future, they do have their eyes set on expanding down the road.

The two are excited for the future and the opportunity to bring the indulgence of Jeremiah’s into more communities in their area but want to make sure they perfect operations at their first location.

“We want to make sure that we’re running smoothly and that we’ve learned all that we feel we need to learn to go to the next one and do it better,” said Abbie. “It’s important to us to be in the store every day to learn its personality, to help our squad and to make sure we understand what it’s going to take for it to run on its own long-term.”

Jeremiah’s has been a part of Abbie and John’s family since the beginning, and we’re so excited to have them become a part of ours.

To see how you can bring the coolest brand with the hottest franchise opportunity to your community, get started by contacting us today!