Meet Leann Fish | Owner of The Barkside Creamery

We had the good fortune of connecting with Leann Fish and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Leann, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
We began taking our new puppy to day play and they always had fun activities with a Photo Booth and a pup cup. We always were happy to pay the $10-$15 dollars for our puppy Champ to get to do the special event and have a pup cup. We started thinking about having a dog ice cream truck and things went from there.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have been a retail manager most of my life. About 6 years ago the business I worked for closed and I found a position at a pet retailer. I loved working with the customers and learning about their pets. This company also participated in local pet related events and the stores had adoption events, so I became more and more interested in working with pets. DJ had been in the restaurant business for most of his life and left to start his own landscaping business. I still work for the pet retailer but we now have Champion Clean Yards landscaping and The Barkside Creamery! We are both in our 50’s and wish we would have had the confidence to start our own company 30 years ago. It is a freedom that is worth the hard work!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Since this interview is based on our business The Barkside Creamery, I don’t really know how to relate this question, sorry!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My husband DJ Fish is the person who came up with the concept. He is the person who makes the pup cups and had the vision for the business.
Champion is one of our 4 dogs and he is the dog in our logo. Three years ago I found a puppy that was a stray and he only lived until 5 months due to an unknown heart issue. We were both devastated. DJ saw a photo of Champion online and we made the decision to adopt him. He had been found as a stray too and quickly became DJ’s very best friend. The importance of dogs as family in our lives is a huge factor in why we wanted to create this business.

Website: Www.Barkside creamery.com

Instagram: Thebarksidecreamery

Facebook: The Barkside Creamery

Image Credits
Leann and DJ Fish