Creamcredible’s Lima Team: Kumari, Autumn & Aurora. Photo by Omari Morgan
BY DEB AND TIM SMITH
While driving home from the Lima Crossroads Festival on a Saturday night earlier this month, we happened to notice the “OPEN” sign on at the old “George’s” drive-in restaurant on Rochester Street. And regarding that location, for those of us from an earlier generation, it would be the old “George France’s.” We do have a related personal story from that era which we will save for our closing.
That location in Lima has sat dormant for several years now so it was exciting to see new life in that old building. In delving into this story, we found that the new Creamcredible operation is being run by Omari Morgan and he is by no means new to the ice cream game. He has owned and operated the Creamcredible ice cream shop on East Henrietta Rd. since 2021. More on that in a minute but first, let’s share the story on how the Lima location came into being.
We found Omari’s story of the origins of Creamcredible to be both intriguing and heartfelt. The basic history of Creamcredible ice cream and desserts has its beginning launch take off in 2021. Prior to opening, Omari and his wife Jen would make ice cream from time to time and share it with friends and family. They always loved a good ice cream but the real fun was in experimenting with different flavors and mixtures until they had something great. Many of those flavors are still what they make today.
Starting an ice cream shop was something Omari had wanted to do since he was a teenager. The idea for starting an ice cream shop was actually cast all the way back in the 1990’s. As a 15-year-old kid driving with his parents, their family stopped by a tiny ice cream shop out in Macedon, which was actually not an establishment they had frequented.
It was just a tiny shack, with a parking lot, but when Omari saw it he thought, “I would really like to own an ice cream shop one day. It seemed like a fun business to be in and it brings joy to people. When you fast forward to my adult years the dream always stuck in the back of my mind although I always thought it would be something I would get to do after I retired not in the middle of an IT career with two young kids.”
But then fate stepped in. An iconic Henrietta ice cream shop, Read’s Ice Cream at 3130 East Henrietta Road, was sold and later closed. Omari and Jen, like many others, loved going to this family-owned jewel in Henrietta. They discussed it and decided to take a chance reopening the shop with their own brand of homemade ice cream. Using fresh cream and milk they found their homemade ice cream to be so much creamier and more delicious than the store brands, and the name Creamcredible was born. They also make chocolates, desserts and milkshakes.
“I have to say there is something about ice cream shops I absolutely love,” Omari says exuding enthusiasm. “It’s just the atmosphere the shops facilitate. It’s wholesome and nostalgic in some ways and it’s just been such an honor to be a part of people’s happy and exciting events such as birthdays, weddings, baseball games, and concerts. We’ve also been able to bring a bit of light and joy to people on their harder days when they just need a comfort food, a listening ear, and a kind smile.”
We have the backstory on how the new business in Lima came together. The building is currently owned by Andy Torpey, who is actually making his second appearance in one of our Sentinel articles. Back in 2020 when we were doing our series on the hamlets of Lima, the Torpeys came up as the only remaining inhabitants of the old hamlet of Idaho which was located at the end of Pond Rd.
At any rate, after buying the building Andy floated an offer on Facebook where he conveyed the fact that he was looking for a vendor to sell ice cream at his establishment. At this point we need to call a timeout and explain the layout of the building as most of our readers would have never been there, especially because it’s been closed for some time now.
Looking from the road, the two thirds of the building on the left-hand side would be the seating for the diner component, while the other third on the right-hand side is the part currently being occupied as the ice cream shop Creamcredible.
Andy told us that he had half a dozen people inquire about the opportunity and there were a few reasons why he chose Omari…
- Omari had the experience of successfully operating his Henrietta shop with Andy taking note of the very positive reviews.
- Omari’s infectious enthusiasm also played to his advantage. “Most guys, when they’re kids, dream of being an astronaut or a professional athlete,” said Andy. “This guy was dreaming of owning an ice cream shop!” Gotta love the logic.
Andy is currently looking for just the right tenant to take over the restaurant component of the complex. Obviously the restaurant and the ice cream shop would serve as wonderful complements to each other.
Creamcredible’s current hours in Lima are 4 to 9 every day. Henrietta is 3 to 9 M–Thur. and 1 to 9 Friday and Saturday. They are open 1 to 8:30 Sunday. Regarding his staff, Omari gushes praise saying, “Honestly, I didn’t want to mention one person without mentioning them all but we have been so lucky to find these incredible, kind and dedicated team members over the years.”
And finally for that “related personal story” we promised, when we were in high school Deb worked at George France’s and Tim picked her up every Friday and Saturday night. He remembers waiting in the car out back, sometimes for several minutes, because depending upon how busy the restaurant had been that night, the staff cleanup time would vary.
So when we saw the place open on that Saturday night, we recreated the moment and Tim parked out back while Deb hopped out to go in and let them know we’d like to do an article for them. It was all very déjà vu. So here’s the article, we hope you find the opportunity to stop by and enjoy the Creamcredible experience, and just one last thing… if you notice a couple making out in their car out back, please promise not to tell our parents!
