Bobby Aare

Bobby Aare, owner and operator of the Marble Slab Creamery, next to Starbucks, between the Target and Wal-Mart, celebrated his first year in business by giving $1,000 to an area non-profit organization and the winner was the Garland High School Band.

A pregnant wife at home and extensive domestic and international travel for his work at KPMG Consulting caused this Firewheel Estates resident to rethink his priorities and life goals.While most of his professional work dealt with computers, his bachelors and masters degrees were for marketing so he decided to use that knowledge for his own business.When discussing with Sri, his wife, what type of business they might want to start, she suggested they both loved ice cream and that an ice cream shop would be fun and literally tasteful.

A year of research and negotiations finally resulted in a decision to open a Marble Slab franchise, a store that has already grown to be one of the very top stores in the chain and first in North Texas.His new store concept with patterned tile, low-energy lighting, product displays and a wall mural sets his store apart from all the others.He also emphasizes the importance of customer service, which is why you'll usually be greeted within moments of entering the store.

Bobby now has 30 ice cream flavors to choose from, of which about 22 wll be available at any one time.Everything is prepared on the premises - the ice cream, waffle cones, apple pies, brownies, cookies, ice cream cakes, everything.
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Bobby says that customers often notice the variation of texture and densities between the flavors.He explains that flavorings affect the texture.For example, the rum ice cream doesn't freeze as hard because it actually contains rum, which inhibits the freezing.

Celebrating his first year wasn't the start to his emphasis on community service.Bobby has been helping many organizations since his first day, like the Girl Scouts and many others.You may also notice a steady stream of fire and police officers - they get a very special discount.Even though Bobby has about 20 employees, you'll be able to spot him from his big sincere smile.Take the time to enjoy an ice cream and say hello to your neighbor.Tell him you read about his store in the Firewheel Estates Newsletter.

(Thanks to Doug Athas of the Greens HOA for allowing us to use his personal interview with Bobby as a basis for this article.)