At 16, she got a job at a Grapevine ice cream parlor. At 22, she owns the place.

Elizabeth Bartlett reminisces about walking the boardwalk in John’s Pass, Florida, where her family would regularly vacation. She looked forward to one place in particular, her favorite ice cream parlor, Kilwins, where they would enjoy an ice cream cone as they looked out over the Atlantic Ocean.

“It was by far our favorite part of the vacation, and so when we saw one in our hometown we were elated,” Elizabeth said.

Now, at 22, she is owner of the Kilwins franchise at 338 S. Main St. in her hometown of Grapevine. It became official three years ago on April 28, 2022, not too long after Elizabeth began working there as an ice cream scooper and counter helper.

“At age 16 my parents forced me to go out and go job hunting. They said if I wanted a car with car insurance then I was going to work for it,” she recalled.

So, with her mom alongside for support, she went up and down Main Street in Grapevine in search of a job, when a familiar store came into sight (Kilwins). They walked in and struck up a conversation and interview with the owners.

After working at the store for three years, one year spent as a shift supervisor and one year as the store’s production manager, an opportunity came to Elizabeth that she said had never occurred to her. After all, she was still a teenager.

“The thought of actually running and owning the store still never even crossed my mind. It wasn’t until the previous owners informed us they were in the process of selling that the idea of owning the store even became a possibility,” she said. “It was never even my idea. It was my mom who came into Kilwins just to visit and the previous owner just happened to be there, and out of curiosity she asked about their selling process and what it would take.”

It was that same night Elizabeth came home and sat down with her parents, Jennifer and Mark Bartlett. They asked what she thought about having the store transferred into her name.

“I simply said why not?” she said, flashing back with a smile.

“We call this our God thing,” Elizabeth continued. “Owning a franchise was never something anyone in my family has ever considered. Both my parents worked in the airlines, and my mom was a stay-at-home mom after she had my three siblings and me. If it wasn’t for me working there for the past three years and them seeing the opportunity in it we never would have set out to do it.

“This is a whole new world for us. It was very overwhelming, especially for my mom who never worked a day at Kilwins.”

However, Elizabeth said with many 12-hour days and lots of learning moments, they slowly began to understand the patterns and learned what worked and what didn’t.

“After the first year we began to really enjoy it and get into a good groove,” she said.

Elizabeth graduated from Collegiate Academy at Tarrant County College in 2021. As far as a formal college education, she said, “My parents refer to the store as being my college education now.”

Elizabeth said working at the store before becoming the owner has its advantages. She knew the product, customers and all of the daily operations, what worked and didn’t work.

“I’m still in the store quite a bit for training and just to come and check on things, but it’s mainly our amazing team members who keep the store running,” she said. “We have an amazing production manager, Rachel Brown, who makes sure all production is getting done to the Kilwins standards, and we have awesome shift supervisors who keep the team in line and the store clean.”

Elizabeth also credits her family for their help, especially her mother.

“Everyone often refers to this as my store, but really it’s our store, we’re co-owners and frankly, it takes two to run it,” she said. “My dad is technically an owner as well, but he’s more of our handy man, and my brother in-law actually has brought lots of great knowledge from being a manager at In-N-Out, and now he is one of our shift supervisors.”

Jennifer said, “Liz’s dad and I never set out to be a part of a franchise — the thought never crossed our radar. In truth, the franchise found us.

“Lizzy’s ability to motivate and build her team and her business knowledge are blessings to see in action. She is a testament to the success of hard work, combined with a humble spirit and a servant’s heart. Working alongside Liz, watching her grow, and being part of a phenomenal company has genuinely been one of the greatest joys in my life.”

Kilwins is based out of Petoskey, Michigan, with over 160 locations. Elizabeth said the company is making a big push to open 400 more locations in the next four years and she already knows where one will be.

“We’re very glad to be a part of that by opening our second location this April in Waco, located right by Magnolia Silos and the new AC Waco hotel,” she said.

This story was originally published April 16, 2025 at 3:25 PM.