'Pokémon Go' rescued a struggling small town ice cream shop
Pokémon Go may be the small business solution owners everywhere are looking for.
Gary Dear is the owner of Mad Hatter's Ice Cream in Anacortes, Washington. Ever since the store opened, Dear has struggled to keep on the lights — until his store became neighbors with a Pokéstop. In less than two weeks, Dear's store has boomed in popularity, with sales doubling and sometimes tripling what they were before.
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"Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expected it to end up like this," Dear told local news station KSDK. "I've never seen anything take off like this."
Many of the Pokémon are actually in the depot across the street. Dear reports that players will travel for miles to capture the Pokémon near his store and then walk across the street to pick up his homemade ice cream.
In the weeks before Pokémon Go took off, Dear had to close up shop while recovering from an illness. After the app launched, Dear has had so many customers that he's had to extend hours and hire a few extra employees.
"It was a shame to see him close up shop. We're glad he's back," Rick Miller, one of the shop's regular customers, told KSDK. "Some people are very frustrated with Pokémon Go; he loves it!"
Mad Hatter's Ice Cream has a 4.5 star rating on Yelp and very Washington flavors, including black licorice and wild blackberry.
Pokémon for the greater good.
