Today we’d like to introduce you to Marla Kentos.
Hi Marla, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
From Healthcare Administration to Three Edison Businesses: My Five-Year Journey
If you had told me years ago that after more than two decades working in healthcare administration I would become the owner of three food-service businesses in Edison, New Jersey, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.
But today, that’s exactly where I find myself.
My name is Marla Kentos, and over the past five years, what began as a neighborhood ice cream shop has grown into three businesses: The Ice Cream House, The Coffee House too, and Corporate Cafe & Catering.
I didn’t begin this journey with a plan to build three businesses. I started by listening.
It Started With a Simple Request
My husband had a coffee shop across the street from what would eventually become The Ice Cream House. Customers would frequently mention that they wished there was an ice cream shop in the area.
We kept hearing it.
Eventually, decided to act on it.
In November 2021, The Ice Cream House opened at 940 Amboy Avenue, Edison, NJ 08837.
I quickly learned that owning an ice cream shop involves a lot more than ice cream.
People see someone behind the counter scooping a cone and may think that’s the business. In reality, scooping ice cream represents maybe 20% of what goes into operating the store.
Behind that cone are hours of cleaning, inventory management, quality control, ordering, equipment maintenance, staffing, training, product development and marketing.
There is always something that needs your attention.
One of the realities I’ve learned about entrepreneurship is that sometimes you work harder for less pay.
But I’ve also learned that the rewards of owning a business aren’t always measured by a paycheck.
Watching My Team Grow
One of the accomplishments I value most has nothing to do with sales numbers.
It’s watching my employees grow.
Many of the people who have worked with me started when they were young. Over the years, I’ve watched them become responsible and successful young adults.
I continue to give opportunities to young people who apply because I believe a first job can teach lessons that extend far beyond the workplace.
They learn responsibility. They learn customer service. They learn teamwork. They learn how to solve problems and communicate with people.
And I’ve learned from them, too.
Treating my team with respect and recognizing and rewarding their contributions has helped me retain many of the same team members for years.
I’ve also learned something that was difficult for me in the beginning: I don’t have to control everything.
For several years, I allowed the business to consume me. I felt as though I had to be everywhere and involved in every decision.
I don’t operate that way anymore.
I trust my team.
I try not to micromanage my stores. Instead, I give people the opportunity to take responsibility, make decisions and grow into their roles.
When you give good employees room to flourish, they often surprise you with what they’re capable of doing.
And learning to trust them allowed me to start thinking about what could come next.
The Second Business
In July 2024, I opened The Coffee House too at 20 Campus Drive, Edison, NJ 08837, located within the Raritan Center business community.
It was a different environment from The Ice Cream House.
Instead of primarily serving a neighborhood customer base, The Coffee House too gave me the opportunity to serve employees and businesses within one of Edison’s major business communities.
It was another lesson in adapting.
The customer is different. The hours are different. The products are different. The pace is different.
But the principle remains the same: listen to your customers and give them a reason to come back.
When Business and Life Collided
Then came one of the hardest periods of my life.
My mother became seriously ill while, at the same time, my marriage was falling apart.
I ultimately lost my mother and went through a divorce—two enormous life changes happening almost simultaneously.
There are moments in life when you can’t control what is happening around you. You can only decide how you’re going to move forward.
For me, moving forward meant continuing to build.
In December 2025, during this period of tremendous personal change, Corporate Cafe & Catering opened at 110 Fieldcrest Avenue, Edison, NJ 08837, also serving the Raritan Center business community.
Corporate Cafe & Catering became more than another business location for me.
In many ways, it represented a new chapter.
It reminded me of one of the biggest lessons entrepreneurship has taught me: sometimes you have to create your own opportunities.
After investing so much time, money, sweat and tears into building something, giving up isn’t always the answer.
Sometimes the answer is to pivot.
Learning to Pivot
“Pivot” has probably become one of the most important words in my business vocabulary.
Today, I’m still pivoting.
Ice cream is seasonal. You can’t change the weather, and you can’t force customers to think about ice cream in January the same way they do on a hot July evening.
So my job is to find ways to stretch the ice cream season as long as possible while continuing to develop The Coffee House too and Corporate Cafe & Catering as sources of income during the slower ice cream months.
That requires constantly looking ahead.
What products should we introduce?
What do customers want now?
What isn’t selling?
What could we do differently?
How can catering grow?
What can we offer tomorrow that we aren’t offering today?
Not every idea succeeds, and I’ve become comfortable with that.
Listening to Customers—and Critics
I’ve also learned to listen to advice and, sometimes, criticism.
That isn’t always easy when you’ve invested so much of yourself into a business.
But customers see things you don’t see.
Employees see things you don’t see.
Even critics occasionally point out something that needs to change.
You don’t have to agree with every opinion, but you should be willing to listen, take legitimate feedback seriously and make changes when they can improve the business.
I’ve learned that being stubborn isn’t the same thing as being consistent.
You can remain committed to your vision while still being willing to change how you get there.
Five Years Is Worth Celebrating
As The Ice Cream House approaches its five-year milestone, simply being able to say we’re still here is one of my proudest accomplishments.
Five years may not seem extraordinary from the outside.
As a small-business owner, I see it very differently.
Keeping a food-service business operating year after year is a tall task. There are slow seasons, rising costs, equipment problems, staffing challenges, changing customer habits and countless unexpected expenses.
And life doesn’t stop happening because you own a business.
There have been days when I’ve questioned decisions. There have been ideas that didn’t work. There have been difficult personal moments when the business still needed to open the next morning.
But there have also been new customers walking through our doors every day.
There are familiar faces that continue to come back.
There are employees who have stayed and grown with us.
Those are the things that tell me we’re heading in the right direction.
What Entrepreneurship Has Taught Me
I spent more than 20 years working in healthcare administration before becoming an entrepreneur.
Today, I operate three businesses:
The Ice Cream House
940 Amboy Avenue
Edison, NJ 08837
Opened November 2021
The Coffee House too
20 Campus Drive
Edison, NJ 08837
Opened July 2024
Corporate Cafe & Catering
110 Fieldcrest Avenue
Edison, NJ 08837
Opened December 2025
When I look at those three businesses, I don’t just see storefronts.
I see lessons.
I’ve learned to stay consistent and positive no matter what comes my way.
I’ve learned that treating employees with respect creates a stronger team.
I’ve learned that leadership sometimes means stepping back instead of stepping in.
I’ve learned to listen to customers.
I’ve learned to take criticism seriously without allowing it to define me.
I’ve learned that an idea that doesn’t work isn’t necessarily a failure—it may simply be telling you where to go next.
And I’ve learned to pivot.
Most of all, I’ve learned to be grateful.
I’m grateful for the young people who have worked beside me and allowed me to watch them grow. I’m grateful for the customers who return week after week. I’m grateful for the new faces we continue to see.
And I’m incredibly grateful to the Edison community and the Raritan Center business community for supporting us throughout this journey.
Five years ago, I listened when people said the neighborhood needed an ice cream shop.
I could never have predicted everything that would follow.
One ice cream shop became a coffee house.
The coffee house was followed by a café and catering business.
And somewhere along the way, I changed too.
I’m still learning. I’m still listening. I’m still pivoting.
And I’m still growing.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve also learned something that was difficult for me in the beginning: I don’t have to control everything.
For several years, I allowed the business to consume me. I felt as though I had to be everywhere and involved in every decision.
As you know, we’re big fans of The Ice Cream House. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Treating my team with respect and recognizing and rewarding their contributions has helped me retain many of the same team members for years.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theicecreamhousenj.com
- Instagram: theicecreamhouse_nj
- Facebook: theicecreamhousenj
