Nightingale’s Sweet Success
Everything starts with an idea. Perhaps simple. Perhaps wildly creative. Either way, all you need is a spark of imagination and tireless dedication. That is certainly the case with Hatch Kitchen success story Nightingale Ice Cream Sandwiches.
Before Nightingale came to fruition, husband-and-wife team Hannah Pollack and Xavier Meers were local chefs and restaurateurs in Richmond. While working on the dessert menu for the now shuttered Greenleaf’s Pool Room, Pollack began researching recipes in hopes of recreating a timeless and beloved classic: the ice cream sandwich. Little did she know, her rendition would take off.
Initially a plated dessert option at the restaurant, the cool concoction’s popularity skyrocketed. Meers recalls turning to his partner and saying, “We are going to sell this, we are doing it.”
Nightingale’s first customer was Richmond fan favorite Chiocca’s, a basement dive bar and deli with a charm all its own. Local stores quickly caught on, and before they knew it, Union Market, Shields Market, Stella’s Grocery, Little House Green Grocery and others were carrying the sweet treats.
“We have always worked so well together, we balance each other out,” Pollack says of her husband and business partner, Meers. “He came here from Belgium 11 years ago to open his restaurant and that’s where we met, I worked with him right from the start for five years until I left to be a chef on my own.”
Shortly after, the two were reunited to take on the new venture together. As Nightingale began to grow, so did the vision of the business.
In the beginning, Meers was the sole deliverer for Nightingale. In between lunch and dinner shifts at Brux’l, a restaurant he owned at the time, Meers would drop off the ice cream sandwiches to businesses around the region. “We don’t miss that part of our life,” he says, laughing.
During the first year, Nightingale was run solely by Meers and Pollack, and the duo only sold the sandwiches locally in Richmond. It was clear that they needed an adequate space to amp up production — that’s when Hatch Kitchen came into the picture.
As Nightingale was searching for a place to call home, Hatch was nearing completion. It was harmonious. In January 2019, Meers and Pollack became the inaugural members of the 10,000-square-foot shared commercial kitchen. Since then, they have continued to be a shining example of where passion — with the appropriate amount of gumption — can lead you.
“What was beneficial to us about Hatch was the ability to learn,” Pollack says. “To learn about the business and to make our mistakes. We could not have gotten to where we are now without making some big mistakes.”
Hatch Kitchen, which has now expanded to a 20,000-square-foot facility, provides commercial kitchen space for budding food and beverage entrepreneurs, in addition to business incubation and mentorship for members. Backed by real estate developer Lynx Ventures, Clopton Siteworks, where Hatch Kitchen is located, features fifteen 20,000-square-foot warehouses that have been earmarked for food and beverage businesses in some capacity.
“The idea [Hatch] globally is an awesome idea, that is why we joined, and that’s why we are still a part of it,” Meers says. “We got to be the anchor of this new concept, and we are very happy to be here.”
In October, Nightingale officially moved into a fully custom 10,000-square-foot facility at Clopton Siteworks. “I still have the initial drawing of the floor-plan I made, and it’s not far off from what we ended up with!” Pollack says with excitement.
A Willy Wonka-esque sight, cookie dough and ice cream depositing machines, a double rack oven, and a walk-in freezer that requires a jacket before entry because temps reach well below freezing, occupy the new space. Meers and Pollack worked with Lynx Ventures, Fultz & Singh Architects, and ML Bell to bring their dream facility to life.
Locally headquartered food distributor, Performance Food Group (PFG) — to whom Meers and Pollack give extensive credit for kickstarting their venture — helped Nightingale first launch distribution locally, before quickly growing into distribution up and down the East Coast. Now, with a recently released exclusive 7-11 product, ‘Chomp,’ and a partnership with Goldbelly — a curated online marketplace connecting small businesses with consumers through nationwide shipping — there is no end in sight to the possibilities for this beloved business.