Southborough teen launches ice cream business

Above: Southborough’s Connor Lester dishes out creamy treats at Sperry’s of Southborough. (photos L-R by Beth Melo and from Facebook)

After years of working at a popular ice cream stand, 16 year old Connor Lester made the leap to launch his own business.

This spring, Lester partnered with a business on Route 9 in Southborough to open a small ice cream shop inside a liquor/convenience store. Sperry’s now sells several flavors of  scooped “ultra creamy” ice cream.

In addition to two dozen flavors of ice cream from from Richardson farm in Middleton, customers can order up milkshakes or cookie sandwiches that have an extra hometown link. The cookies are from Yummy Mummy Bakery. (Although that business is in Westborough, it was launched years ago by another Southborough entrepreneur.)

I was curious about how the teen made his start. So, I spoke with him for the scoop. 

Lester tells me that he loved the experience working at Uhlmann’s in Westborough. But he wanted to invest in a business where he could reap the rewards from his efforts rather than just a paycheck.

Since he loves the ice cream biz, he used his earnings and invested in building his own business. He splits the revenue from the ice cream with the store the shop is setup inside. 

This summer, you can find him scooping out ice cream and other treats daily. The Algonquin student tells me that since his hours are compatible with school, he hopes to keep running the seasonal business until mid-late fall.

His shift generally runs from 3:00 – 9:00 pm on weekdays and from 10:00 am to close on weekends. (But Sperry’s owner will generally serve interested customers who come in before Lester’s shift begins.)

To support the Southborough businesses, stop by Sperry’s at 205 Turnpike Road (Route 9 Westbound with an additional driveway connection to Middle Road).