Briana Ramirez, 14, has watched as her parents, Viviana and Carlos Ramirez, have revitalized the block of East Morris Street between Green Street and Glenwood Avenue in Dalton, what they call Block 79, by opening several new businesses over the years.
Still, she believed more could be done there.
"I wanted to do something that hasn't been done in Dalton before," she said.
So when one of her sisters suggested adding ice cream, that got Briana to thinking.
"I've worked at Casa del Cafe (a coffee shop in which her parents are co-owners) for over a year," she said. "But I thought it was time that I tried something of my own."
She approached her parents about using a small recreational vehicle parked in the parking lot at Casa del Cafe as an ice cream stand.
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"When we first got the RV, we thought it (was going to be) a mobile coffee shop for weddings and other special occasions," Viviana Ramirez said. "But we put that aside for a while and parked it in the parking lot. She did her research and decided she wanted to do bubble puff waffles. A lot of kids are into popping pop it toys, so she came up with a waffle that looks like bubbles."
The ice cream stand is called Bubble Puff at Casa Cafe after its waffles.
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The stand offers customers regular waffles as well as flavored ones such as strawberry. It also serves ice cream in regular and flavored cones as well as waffle cones.
Briana Ramirez and two co-workers make the waffles fresh daily. They are used to serve a wide variety of toppings, such as fresh strawberries, pineapple, blueberries and peaches as well as sprinkles, caramel sauce and almonds.
The stand is open from noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
The stand has been open a couple of weeks.
"Business has been great," Briana Ramirez said.
"People will come here (Casa del Cafe) and get coffee or tea," Viviana Ramirez said, "and their kids will go out and get ice cream. Or, sometimes, people will just want some ice cream and come by."
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Bubble Puff at Casa Cafe joins a growing list of businesses owned or co-owned by the Ramirez family on Block 79, which includes the Eclectic79 Boutique and the Eclectic79 Furniture Store, Beast Mode Training Facility and Casa del Cafe.
"I had a customer the other day ask me, 'How do you come up with something and know it's going to succeed?'" Viviana Ramirez said. "I told him we don't know if something is going to succeed. But if I like the concept, and she (Briana) likes the concept, then maybe other people will like it as well."
Viviana Ramirez said they haven't made up their minds whether Bubble Puff at Casa del Cafe will be open just for the summer or for the next year.
"We've got people already asking us to leave it open because kids will want to come after school and have ice cream," Viviana Ramirez said.
"This has been a lot of work for her," Viviana Ramirez said. "It's her first business. She has been really excited about it, and we are proud she has been so successful."