Sweet Spot ice cream shop opens in Goodwater

“We had the vision.”

 

 

 

Special to the News
News from Goodwater

 

The mother-son team of Krystal and Jordan Benson have opened The Sweet Spot on Alabama Highway 9 in downtown Goodwater across from Goodwater Baptist Church.

Serving up delicious Blue Bell ice cream and milkshakes in a variety of flavors, The Sweet Spot is a must stop for residents and passers-through alike, the perfect remedy for the heat of an Alabama summer.

When asked where the idea for an ice cream shop came from, Krystal Benson said, “It all stems from my father. My dad used to sell ice cream on our street, and his name sold it. My dad’s name was ‘Sweet,’ like sugar, his legal name.”

Sweet Benson of Cottage Grove was the ice cream man for his street, and Krystal shared that she recently found out that her grandmother, Willie Benson, had been known as the candy and ice cream lady in her neighborhood in Alexander City, as well, bringing in extra income to help support her large family while her husband was away in the service.

As a teenager, Krystal herself worked as a fountain worker for Mr. Crew in Rockford, learning valuable skills which she is now passing on to her son.

Ice cream has been in the family for generations. So when her son, 15-year-old Jordan, was ready for a part-time job, Krystal had an idea.

Her father, Sweet, had seen the building in Goodwater before his passing in 2021 and expressed an interest in it. However, the owner wasn’t yet sure what his plans were for the property.

A few years later, though, the owner approached Krystal about purchasing the building. She says when she came back to Goodwater to take another look, she thought, “Oh, it’s right by the road. Perfect. This is what my dad always wanted.”

Jordan added, “There’s a lot of traffic.”

The building hadn’t been used in almost 40 years, and it was going to take quite a bit of work, but Benson was undaunted. She spent many long hours and late nights over two years refurbishing the structure and bringing it back to life.

She says she’s not done yet. She and Jordan have many ideas for their property and new business.

“It has really been a journey for me, but I did it because I knew it’s what my father wanted us to do,” Benson says. “I wanted my son to have his own employment, to work for himself, and to do what his granddad would’ve loved to do if he’d had the chance.”

When asked if he had any concerns about opening a business in Goodwater, Jordan, a rising sophomore, said, “The building looked a little rough when we started, but once we had the vision of how we wanted to do it, I knew it was going to be just fine. We had the vision.”

Krystal added that so many of Goodwater’s young people have been showing up, asking questions and being “super excited” about what they’re doing.

Jordan followed with, “‘Cause there’s not really a lot for kids my age to do. Now they can walk around, get something sweet, hang out.”

Jordan says he hopes to inspire young kids to know there’s not an age limit to starting your own business. Krystal added that she hopes their business will encourage other people in the town to do the same, to pour back into their community, open up some of its abandoned buildings.

“It might not ever get to be back [to] what it was, but it can be something new,” she said. “Maybe if they see us taking one step, somebody else will take one or two more, and then somebody else will take one or two more.”

Jordan said his mom is his manager, and when asked what it’s like working with his mom, he replied, “The best part is our bond and how we can work together. I’m good at taking orders; she’s good at scooping.”

The most challenging part?

“She’s stern on cleaning.”

Krystal says it’s all been worth it seeing the smiles on customers’ faces bringing a smile to her son.

“Ice cream does make people smile,” she said.

Jordan has big plans for his ice cream business. Mondays are “Read-a-Book Monday” in which children read a book, answer a few questions about the story and get a free sherbet ice cream.

“Kids need to read a little bit more, get out of those phones,” Krystal said.

The Sweet Spot also has an ongoing promotion: after five purchases, you get a cone for free.

“We’d like to let everybody know they’re welcome…just welcome to come and try the ice cream,” she said.

Krystal knows her son had his granddad in his life for many formative years, and he learned from the best.

“Pawpaw would say [to Jordan] scoop it like this and do it like that,” she recalled.

Jordan added that if his Pawpaw was still here, “He’d be sitting in one of our rocking chairs out here all day. He’d sit out here and watch these cars pass by.”

The spirit of the neighborhood ice cream man, Sweet Benson, is clearly here.

Krystal said, “I really want to make Pawpaw proud.”

There is no doubt she has.

The Sweet Spot is located at 22414 Highway 9 in Goodwater. Its summer hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays and from 1 to 6 p.m. on Sundays.