New owner has big plans for sweet handcrafted ice pops downtown and on the move

Just in time for summer, a Dayton business is turning up the sweetness.

Sweet P's Hand Crafted Ice Pops, a permanent vendor in the 2nd Street Market, has been sold to Danielle Edwards, a third generation Daytonian who has very big plans for the business that include the addition of a retail space sometime in the next year.

Pam Bertke, founder and former owner of Sweet P’s, sold her brand a month ago after the women formed a sweet friendship over a love for the paletas (or ice pops).

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“Pam will now work beside us for six months, but something tells me we might be able to keep her. I met Pam at the 2nd Street Market. For the last six years, I have been a customer. Our family may have single highhandedly kept this business afloat,” Edwards said.

Edwards said Bertke has been the creative powerhouse behind Sweet P’s for the last 12 years. Now, Bertke will be able to enjoy retirement and travel more with her husband. The production process and ingredients for the 175 flavors Sweet P’s offers, Edwards said, will remain exactly the same.

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In one month since purchasing the business, Edwards has increased production to 1,000 handcrafted ice pops a week with goals to increase that number. Already, she has added a space for production in the former Fronana store at 27 W. First St. in downtown Dayton and a Sweet P’s vehicle that has the capacity to bring the ice pops to food truck events, sell at farmers markets and cater to large numbers of customers.

Within the next year, Edwards plans for the First Street shop to become a retail space.

“My family has been here for 80 years and I’m watching my kids grow up here. They love the Popsicles, and we’re really approaching this as a family business,” Edwards said.

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