Cookiebird Ice Cream Bar, located at 138 San Marco Avenue in St. Augustine, is located next to Ayara Thai Street Food Café, near Sanchez Avenue. It is co-owned by the husband and wife team of Mike and Kate Alfieri.
Serving premium ice cream, sundaes, and shakes with a variety of toppings and cones (see the list below) seemed to be a fun way to earn a living. Kate still works in the corporate world as a safety net for the couple, but is still able to mix fun in at work (she works for a toy manufacturer). Michael, who was a high school English, ELA, and journalism teacher in Fort Lauderdale for ten years, was taught from a young age the reward that comes with operating a food business. He says, “Serving something to somebody and watching them enjoy it is something I got from my father. I never wanted to be a chef, but ice cream is just something that I’ve always loved. And we’ve always loved soft serve, so it was just something that seemed very fun, and kind of came naturally. And when we moved here seven years ago, looking at spaces, every time we’d be like, ‘oh, that’s be a good ice cream shoppe,’ so that just added to the imagination of the idea itself.”
The shoppe was years in development, and the brainchild of Mike, Kate, and their young son, who unknowingly came up with the venue’s name. Kate explains, “Our son decided to call me ‘Cookiebird’ one day in the car and we just thought it was the funniest thing ever and we don’t know where he came up with it when he was five years old. It was just an adorable little name. And, at the time, it was right when things were shutting down for COVID and we were experimenting with hard ice cream and making different flavours at the house and…we would joke around about our ice cream shoppe that we would have some day called ‘Cookiebird.’ So, of course, five years later, when it actually came together, there was no other name that it could be besides ‘Cookiebird.”
“After having a child,” Mike says, “there wasn’t a lot of money. We struggled.” His wife was working at the toy company. He worked in Sales, and later for a waste management company based in Jacksonville. His experience in sales helped in the new venture. “For doing something for the first time I feel like everything is a surprise. Having to figure out those problems together with my wife has been the greatest challenge, learning experience, and unifier, really. We work well together, especially on projects. Something this fun…it’s a dream come true. We enjoy it so much.”
Kate and Mike say they appreciate being able to do business in Northeast Florida. Says Mike, “Business on the First Coast is phenomenal because there’s such a loyal, local population here that have seen and lived through so many changes like everywhere else in the world. But, the generosity, support, and…integrity and kindness of everyone that we met when we moved here inspired us to do this. So, everyone that owns a restaurant and owns a business is just so welcoming and they share information…and it’s just a community we want to be a part of.”
For Kate one of the defining characteristics of Cookiebird is also its most rewarding. She says, “Being part of the community is my favorite thing of all. When we’re not here we actually miss it because we love to see our guests coming in and our repeat customers. We spent so much time in corporate, and working remotely for other companies and not really working in our community where we lived, so now being able to work down the street from…where we live and seeing our neighbors coming in and seeing all the kids and knowing that…we’ll be able to watch them grow up is really special. And we really love that people come in and celebrate with us, or even if they’re having a bad day they come in and they cheer up just from having our ice cream. It feels like we’re making a really sweet impact on the community.”
The couple says that the reception to Cookiebird has been “overwhelmingly supportive” and they have worked to make their ice cream affordable. Mike says, “We’ve really worked hard from Jacksonville to Palm Coast and tried every single ice cream, looked at every menu, and we are on par with every single place in town, if not cheaper in some instances. We tried to do that because we want the locals to support this and be a part of that community.”
For Kate one big surprise has been how many locals are frequenting the business. “We expected it to be more tourist-heavy, because we are in such a tourist town, and we are in kind of a touristy location, so… we really weren’t sure what to expect when we came into it. But, being surrounded by hotels and AirBnB’s we…thought that tourists would make up a really large percentage of our business. But what we found is actually the opposite and it’s mostly locals that are coming in to see us. We’ve got a lot of repeat customers, so we get to see the same faces over and over again, which is really sweet. And we definitely do get some tourists, but it’s really a small percentage of our customer base.”
Among Cookiebird’s more unique offerings, including some that are vegan, are cones in all different flavours:
· French Vanilla
· Dark Chocolate
· Matcha
· Birthday Cake
· Lavender
· Orange Creamsicle
Cookiebird is also the refuted birthplace of the flavoured coffee milkshake. Michael says they have no proof that they actually invented it, but its “birth” was spontaneous although many reputable sources claim that it was first concocted in the Northeastern United States. Stop by Cookiebird and ask Michael for the story. One fact is clear, though, the treat is deemed to be delicious by coffee lovers from all over who have visited Kate and Mike’s St. Augustine newest ice cream shop.
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