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Ice Cream Shop, The Charmery, Opens Its Doors in Downtown Columbia

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Looking for something sweet to enjoy in the coming months? The Howard County Economic Development Authority (HCEDA) is excited to welcome ice cream shop, The Charmery, to Downtown Columbia! After successfully securing financing through HCEDA’s Catalyst Loan Fund, which was established with funding from the State of Maryland’s Video Lottery Terminal Fund (VLT), The Charmery received a loan to assist with the opening of their fifth location.

Owned and operated by David and Laura Alima, The Charmery started in 2013 with their first location in the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore, MD. As passionate entrepreneurs, Laura and David thought of The Charmery after visiting multiple ice cream shops during their travels and seeing these iconic shops put their cities on their shoulders. They wanted to do the same in Baltimore. So, with a background in restaurant management and ice cream making, Laura and David jump started their ice cream shop plans. David started to experiment with flavors and ice cream production and, from there   ̶   The Charmery was born.

Currently, The Charmery has locations in Hampden, Union Collective, Towson, and Federal Hill. All of their ice cream is manufactured and distributed from their Ice Cream Factory location in Hampden, which opened its doors in May of 2018. While planning for their fifth location, Laura wanted to go back to her roots. As a Columbia native and having a supportive community, it was a natural progression to open their shop in the community they already know and love.

At each Charmery location, David and Laura have the goal to share their love for ice cream with those around them. When you stop by, you will find a variety of flavors ranging from traditional chocolate and vanilla to flavors of the season, as well as two dairy free options. Inspiration for their flavors come from local agriculture, focusing on using real fruit, thoughtfully sourced ingredients, and dairy from grass-fed, hormone free, happy cows.

On March 15, County Executive Calvin Ball also visited The Charmery in Downtown Columbia to recognize the 1-year anniversary since the COVID-19 pandemic began and recognized the HoCo Rise Grant Program.

The Charmery is now open- we are excited to welcome them to Howard County and look forward to watching them grow! To view their menu and flavors, visit: www.thecharmery.com.

About Catalyst Loan Fund and VLT

The Catalyst Loan Fund, administered by HCEDA, is part of Maryland’s VLT Small, Minority and Woman-Owned Business Account initiative. The fund is a locally managed source of capital used to finance new and expanding business investments in which the projects will create permanent jobs and leverage private sector monies. The Catalyst Loan Fund is a revolving loan fund – as borrowers repay Catalyst Fund loans, the principal and interest payments are returned to the fund to be lent again to other businesses, creating a continuous cycle of job growth and investment opportunity in Howard County and the state of Maryland. Whether in the beginning stages of opening a business or in the process of expanding a company’s footprint, Catalyst Fund loans can be used to help businesses at any point in their development.

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