FREDERICK, Md. — Seeing a high school student working behind the counter of an ice cream shop isn't out of the ordinary.
But what if we told you that teenager also owned the shop himself?
"My favorite times are when parents bring their kids in and tell them my whole story and the kids get super excited."
Meet Sasha Hoffman. He just turned 18 and is a rising high school senior.
But he was an aspiring entrepreneur long before he opened Hoffman Brothers Ice Cream here in Frederick.
His original idea, back when he was just 13, was to ride a big bike around town and sell packaged ice cream out of it.
"After I'd done all the permit work, COVID happened, and my parents told me 'no,'" Hoffman said.
Not to be deterred so quickly, he spent much of the pandemic doing research into a brick-and-mortar ice cream shop.
"We had a lot of free time open, and I just wanted to figure out something positive I could do for the community at that time, and something productive, because we were playing a lot of video games," Hoffman said.
With the help of his teacher, he applied for a state grant under the "Project Restore" program. The state awarded money to new or expanding small businesses that were rehabbing previously vacant properties.
"On my way home from school every day, we pass by this abandoned garage right across from the post office. I saw an opportunity; I was like, everybody has to go to the post office at some point," Hoffman said.
In October 2022, Hoffman Brothers opened its doors.
The name is a nod to Hoffman's two older brothers who have helped him out.
"They drive me around everywhere, get deliveries. They're amazing. They even come in here and help scoop ice cream sometimes," Hoffman said.
A lot of the time though, he's the only person in the shop. On hot summer nights, the line can get pretty long.
But, it's not just Hoffman's family members who are rooting for him to succeed.
"And sometimes when I'm here alone, the community comes in and sees I'm super busy with the line out the door, and they offer to help me, it's awesome," Hoffman said.
"I realized people were actually happy waiting in line, because they were happy seeing us succeed. When the whole community sees a shop winning, it feels like they're winning. I love that. It feels like a whole big family."
