Geography is destiny. Detroit is the Motor City. California has its high-tech Silicon Valley. Louisville, Ky., has been successful with food. Yum!Brands (KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell) makes its headquarters downtown, along with Brown-Forman (Jack Daniels, Finlandia), Papa Johns, Long John Silver’s and Texas Roadhouse. These companies attract suppliers, talented individuals and investors. More than 125 food and beverage companies are located in the region and they generated $23 billion in annual revenues, according to Louisville Forward, a development arm of the city government.
When the two founders of a growing ice cream company in Louisville needed management talent and investment dollars, they happily found themselves in the right place. Tim and Roy Koons-McGee started with one scoop shop in Louisville in 2009. They made ice cream and baked goods in a back room. One store led to opening three more. When Whole Foods wanted to carry pints, the co-founders knew they had maxed out their skill sets and their manufacturing capacity.