THE QUEEN OF POPS:

Gigi’s Ice Lollies takes sweets to the Fargo streets

As a child, Nicole Kolbe spent many summers at her grandmother’s farm in rural Tennessee doing what kids do: playing outside, teasing cousins and, of course, getting homemade treats. In Kolbe’s case, these treats were her grandma’s farmfresh frozen ice cream bars which, in the South, are called ice lollies. So in 2011, when Kolbe moved to Fargo, ND from the Atlanta, GA, she saw an opportunity for a niche ice cream pop market.

“See a need; fill a need.” That’s what the Tennessee native and owner/chief lollygagger of Gigi’s Ice Lollies says is one of her mantras. So when a friend approached her with the idea of a food truck, she figured it was worth a shot. After the food truck idea fizzled, Kolbe began dreaming up ways to make her sweet treats a reality.

“It’s not like we had a lot of money to put toward this,” she said, referring to her and her husband Kasper. So they decided to put together a Kickstarter fund, asking friends and relatives to donate to the cause. “The outpouring of local support was amazing, and we reached our goal in three weeks.” The donations, mostly area locals and many in small denominations, came in fast and furious. It was then Kolbe decided the focus of her business would be to invest locally in any way she could―starting with her cart, which was made by two local artists. She settled on the name Gigi’s Ice Lollies in homage to her