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Community Corner

Licking the Summertime Heat with the King of Pops

A Q&A with Nick Carse

When life-- and the recent economic downturn--handed the Carse brothers lemons, these guys decided not to make lemonade.

They made popsicles, or, to be more precise, they made paletas (“puh LET uz”) — frozen pops made with fresh fruit and herbs. 

It all started a couple of years ago when the youngest brother Steven was laid off from his corporate job.  He and his brothers often travel to Central and South American coastal towns, enjoying the local frozen treats called paletas.  With no job in sight, Steven and his brothers started developing recipes and in April of 2010, set up the first King of Pops cart in Poncey-Highland at the corner of North Avenue and North Highland. 

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I recently caught up with middle brother Nick – a graduate of the Georgia State School of Law and former Gwinnett County prosecutor. 

DP:  How many brothers do you have?

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NC: There are three of us.  Ashley is the oldest.  He’s a professor of Anthropology at Whittier College in L.A.  I’m the middle brother and Steven is the youngest.

DP:  I’ve read that your company strives to be eco-friendly - doing things like only generating one bag of garbage a day.

NC:  We actually do better than that.  We’re down to about 2 bags a week.  And, anything that can be grown in Georgia we buy in Georgia.  The strawberries and blueberries come from Dahlonega, the peaches from Fort Valley and the cucumbers and herbs from local farmers.  We buy a lot of our products at the Dekalb Farmer’s Market and the one in Forrest Park.  Oh, and we also compost all of our scraps.

DP:  What is your best selling pop?

NC: That’s hard to say.  I guess the chocolate ones seem to be the most popular.

DP:  Have you ever had any flavors that bombed?

NC: The avocado flavor didn’t do so well.  People that have had avocado smoothies liked them all right, but most people didn’t know what to expect. I don’t like the ones with papaya.

DP:  The stand at North and North Highland is open during the warm months.  Where do y’all go in the winter?

NC: We keep it going during the winter months, but only the wholesale side.  Steven takes off during November and December and I leave January and February.  Last year I was in Peru and Bolivia.

DP:  What’s the weirdest encounter you’ve had selling pops?

NC:  Nothing really weird comes to mind, but everyday is a new story.  Everyone wants to come up and tell you their story...be a part of it. 

If you want to be a part of it, you can find one of the Carse brothers under the rainbow umbrella at the King of Pops stand weekdays from 3 until dusk and weekends from noon to dusk.  Retail outlets include Buddy’s, Savi Urban Market and the Candler Park Market.  

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