'Creating a dessert destination': How a business degree, a chicken shop and a family farm led to an award-winning Gelato brand in Co Down
If you’d told me years ago that I would one day be running an award-winning artisan gelato business in Newcastle, I would probably have laughed.My journey didn’t begin in hospitality or food innovation – it began on a farm, learning the meaning of hard work from my granda. That work ethic has stayed with me through every chapter of my life and remains at the heart of everything I do today.On my other side of the family, retail has always been part of the story too. In 1964, my grandparents took over the Floral filling station in Newcastle, which later became what is now known as the Barbican Centra. Even then, they had a forward-thinking vision: to combine a fuel station with a small shop selling everyday essentials like bread, milk, eggs, and household basics – along with plenty of sweets, which I suspect is where some of my own inspiration for flavour creation began.It was a concept ahead of its time, effectively an early version of the modern fuel and convenience stores we now take for granted. The business supported the fuel side of the operation and reflected a real understanding of what the community needed. Sadly, it was sold when I was nine, following the passing of my late grandfather – a moment we didn’t fully understand the significance of at the time.Looking back, it’s fair to say that both retail and hard work run through my families blood– and, in many ways, through me as well.After completing my business degree, I opened a franchise of Herron’s Country Fried Chicken in 2000 with my dad, Ken. In fact, working in Newcastle was my first real job, apart from helping out on the farm. It was a steep learning curve, but it gave me a real grounding in customer service, pressure, and consistency. There’s nowhere to hide when you’re serving people every day, and that experience shaped me more than I realised at the time.Around that period, life moved quickly. I met my wife Jo-Ann through the business when we expanded into Moira. In a twist of fate, we were soon managing multiple opportunities at once — including acquiring a café she was managing and another franchise in Lisburn — all just as we were preparing for our wedding. It was hectic, but it taught us resilience, teamwork, and how to build something together under pressure.By 2006, I always had one eye on returning to Newcastle. When the opportunity came to acquire Café Crème in the town, we made the move. It felt like coming home, and it allowed us to scale things back slightly while refocusing on quality and community. Newcastle is a special place – it has a strong identity, a loyal local customer base, and a constant flow of visitors who appreciate good food and experience.The idea for Lick Gelato really came later, around 2013. I had started thinking differently about dessert and about how ice cream could be more than just a product, but an experience. I discovered gelato properly and was struck by how different it was: handcrafted, intense in flavour, and visually stunning when done right. It wasn’t widely available locally in the way I imagined it could be, and that gap sparked something.We opened Lick Gelato in May 2015.From day one, the goal was simple: bold flavours, high-quality ingredients, and something visually exciting that stood out from anything else on the market. We didn’t want to be just another ice cream shop. We wanted to create a dessert destination. Over time, that has evolved into a full menu of indulgent treats – smash’d donuts, Belgian waffles, homemade brownies – things that turn a visit into an experience rather than just a stop for a scoop.No two days are ever the same as a business owner. One minute I’m involved in production and experimenting with flavours, the part I genuinely love, and the next I’m buried in bookkeeping and operational tasks. My dad still helps out on that side more than he probably should, and part of me is working on easing him into a well-earned retirement, though I suspect he enjoys being involved too much to fully step away just yet.The highs make it all worthwhile. Winning “Best of the Best Overall Flavour” at the 2025 National UK & Irish Ice Cream Awards with our pistachio gelato was a huge moment. To be ranked runner-up overall in such a competitive field was incredibly humbling. In 2026, we followed that with a Golden Scoop for strawberry and a Bronze award for vanilla. With over 500 entries judged by the Ice Cream Alliance and industry professionals, recognition like that means everything—it validates the care that goes into every batch we make.Of course, there are lows too. Running any business is tough, especially with rising costs, supply pressures and ever-changing regulations. You learn to adapt constantly. There’s no handbook for it – you just keep going, problem-solve, and improve bit by bit.What I’m most proud of is that original vision actually becoming reality. We started from scratch, with no blueprint, and built something that now stands alongside some of the best producers in the UK and Ireland. But more than awards or growth, it’s the people that matter most. My wife Jo-Ann has been there every step of the way, my son Seth has even created flavours that customers absolutely love, and our wider team at Lick are the backbone of everything we do.If I could go back and change anything, it would probably be my time management – though even the mistakes along the way have been valuable. They’ve shaped how we operate now and made the business stronger.More recently, we launched something we’re incredibly excited about “canned ice cream,” unveiled at IFEX Belfast. It went on to win Gold for innovation, and the reaction has been beyond anything we expected. It’s essentially our artisan gelato presented in a transparent can, turning dessert into a visual experience before you even taste it. It took nearly two years to fully develop, from sourcing the right container to refining production methods.The response and demand for it has been quite literally astonishing. We purposely designed it as a fully exportable product and the uptake has exceeded our expectations, with enquires coming in regularly from all over the country and the UK which is very humbling to say the least.Looking ahead, we’re keeping some plans under wraps for now – but what I will say is stay tuned to our socials, it would be a shame to let out all our secrets at once.1. ScreenshotSimon Welby of Lick Gelato pictured with wife Jo-Ann and son Seth Photo: u2. Lick GelatoSimon Simon Welby of Lick Gelato pictured picking up the accolade for best strawberry ice cream at the Golden Scoop Awards 2026, which celebrate the finest producers across the UK and Ireland Photo: u3. Lick GelatoSimon Welby of Lick Gelato has launched something incredibly exciting “canned ice cream,” which was unveiled at IFEX Belfast Photo: u4. Lick GelatoSimon Welby of Lick Gelato pictured with son Seth marking their 10th anniversary last year Photo: u
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