A successful ice cream shop announcing its closure usually signals trouble. But for Danielle Jowdy, owner of Mt. Airy's beloved Zsa's Ice Cream, the decision to close at the end of 2025 comes at the height of the shop's success – and that's exactly why she's doing it.

"I know it's confusing, because you usually only see businesses close when things have gone downhill for a really long time," said Jowdy, who has decided to close rather than cope with the complications of growing the business. 

But for Jowdy, whose approach to business has always been deeply personal and based on strong relationships with her customers, unconventional fits. 

When the compressor on the shop's large walk-in freezer broke, for instance, she faced a huge financial loss – the kind that might tempt some small business owners to give up and hope for a write-off. Not Jowdy. She decided to ask her customers for help – and posted an emergency SOS (Save Our Scoops) sale on social media. Eight hours later, she and her staff had not only sold their stock, they'd made enough profit to cover most of the cost of a new freezer unit.

"It was a huge testament to how people show up for you," Jowdy says. "In Mt. Airy, in Chestnut Hill, in Germantown… I think there's such a special magic shown towards small businesses in this community."

That same community connection proved vital during the pandemic, when Jowdy pivoted to a Covid-safe pickup and delivery service – a choice that proved so successful it transformed her entire business model. Instead of balancing both the in-person store and selling to grocery stores, Jowdy decided to pause the grocery store accounts.

"We were providing levity for people during this wildly uncertain time," Jowdy says. "It became perfectly clear that was the right decision, and then we just got so busy with the volume at the shop that we never went back to the grocery business again."

How it all started

This spirit of embracing the unexpected has been part of Jowdy’s business plan from the beginning, when her passion for making ice cream was still just a hobby. 

She was working at a stained glass studio at the time, but she’d grown up with two parents who owned small businesses, so nine to five was never normal. So, in 2011, she took a risk and formed Zsa's.

The real turning point came one evening right before Thanksgiving, as she was selling her homemade ice cream at a farmers' market. It was dark, cold and wet. A woman approached Jowdy and said, "Ice cream in this weather is not a good idea."

Jowdy’s response?

"As soon as I heard that, I thought that is diminishing what I'm trying to do in terms of making a living for myself and growing this business," she recalls. "In my head, I think something flipped and I thought, 'No, you know what? We're going to become a business that sells ice cream in winter.'"

For the next seven years, Jowdy channeled that determination into building her brand, selling ice cream from a truck, at farmers' markets and in grocery stores. As the business grew more popular, customers began requesting a physical location.

In December 2018, she answered that call, opening the shop at 6616 Germantown Ave.

Successful scoops

Throughout it all, her success has only grown. In 2024, the shop was awarded "gold" in the citywide "Philly Favorite" poll from the Philadelphia Inquirer. That same year, artists Paul Carpenter and Ben Robinson created a mural on the building depicting Northwest Philadelphia and the Wissahickon Valley – fulfilling Jowdy's dream of making Zsa's the brightest thing on the block.

"She has made a really significant contribution to the commercial corridor, helping activate that block between Phil Ellena Street and Hortter Street," says Janis Risch, executive director of the Mt. Airy Business Improvement District. "She has been part of a new wave of retail businesses in that area."

Ironically, it's this very success that led Jowdy to consider closing. As the business became more expensive to manage, she began exploring how to scale up. But opening a second shop would mean more expenses, more staff and more rent – potentially compromising the care and attention she gives her staff and customers.

"I just decided that rather than do the dance with this super delicate ecosystem of scaling, which requires a really fine balance of financing, operations and management... I just wanted to do the best that I could by our customers and by my team for one more year," Jowdy said. 

But she won’t be giving up ice cream just yet. For 2025, Jowdy is planning special events around holidays such as National Ice Cream Day, aiming to make it a year-long celebration of both community and ice cream.

"You get in line at the shop and if you don't know the person in front of you or behind you, you're going to have two friends by the end of the experience," Jowdy explained. "The one in front of you is going to give you a recommendation and the one behind you is going to be taught. It's such an easy way to bridge community –  and that was our mission."

She’s also considering consulting for small business owners or those in the food industry and has received inquiries from people who are interested in the business. 

But for now, anyway, she still has ice cream to sell – even in the coldest depths of winter.