Paradise Ice Cream

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In The Beginning

Even young Eric Staggers was known for being a visionary. Driven by his inner entrepreneur, coupled with a solid faith in Jesus Christ, Eric Staggers dreamed of being the best ice cream catering company in the DMV long before there was ever a storefront. In 2002, he would open Paradise Ice Cream, a tiny two-flat warehouse in Springfield, VA alongside five of his close friends who he called brothers. Having never run a catering business before, Eric and his team set out on a fearless journey only to be met by more failures than victories.

Believing that faith was the cornerstone of the business, Staggers would hold Bible studies with his then employees. In these meetings, he would encourage them to approach life with a servant mindset. Staggers’ relationship with his “brothers” was evident outside the business hours. Employee and long-time friend, Kevin Meredith and his wife lived in the same home as Eric and his wife while their kids were growing up. Though sometimes bills struggled to get paid and the lights were cut off, their wives loved and supported them as businessmen and fathers. Often, on weekends the five families could be seen hanging out at a park after church with strollers, picnic blankets, and basketballs.

The servant mindset that Staggers preached meant serving even at the expense of one’s personal happiness for the greater good of the mission-- the mission being to build the enterprise for the family. But often, his radical words were not well received. The small band of “brothers” dealt with many trials and tribulations, and after a couple of years they split up.

By 2008, Paradise had opened and closed a storefront titled “Beach Bums” in Northern VA, but grown to cater to numerous corporate firms in D.C., employing less than a hundred young adults during the busy summer season. By then, Staggers’ eight kids were old enough to begin working and started taking more responsibility of the family business. Through their teen years, they would learn the importance of hard work, perseverance, preparation, customer service, and most importantly, love.

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