Today we’d like to introduce you to Abbas Zariwala.
Hi Abbas, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
We are a married couple, Nafisa and Abbas Zariwala, and our 8 year old son Burhanuddin, living in East Brunswick, NJ. I work in the biotech industry and my wife is a physical therapist. We always had a dream of starting our own business in the US. We are originally from India and we come form a business family of entrepreneurs. We come from Dawoodi Bohra community based in India, our community places a lot of importance on being “business minded”. In fact, our community provides interest-free financing and mentorship to start a business.
We started looking out for opportunities in the education and food industry. Our aim was to start a venture which we could manage while continuing with our day jobs. We were actively talking to franchisors and other family and friends for opportunities to start our own venture.
One evening I was watching Shark Tank and came across the episode where Jeremy Carlosn and his wife Kait pitched the concept of Crispy Cones to the sharks. It was an americanized version of chimney cones made in Prague. I was really intrigued by the concept, especially watching the Sharks devour the cones. I reached out to the franchisor, filling a brief survey. They immediately responded with an introductory phone call with their business development team, followed by a second call with their CEO. They invited us to come over to their HQ in Idaho, Rexburg for Discovery Day.
Before we committed to visit HQ, we wanted to try out the ice cream. Neither of us had experience in the retail or food industry. We talked to our family and friends who had experience running an ice cream franchise and restaurant. They gave the same advice that reatil food business is tough, but could be rewarding.
We wanted to perform a through due diligence before we jumped in. We had a vacation coming up in Sedona,AZ and luckily they had a store opened in Tempe near the ASU campus. We made a quick detour from the Phoneix airport to try their product. The first time we had the ice cream, especially the part when you bite into the cone, both of us had a spontaneous smile on our face. We were blown away by the taste!
We visited the Crispy Cones team at their headquarters (HQ) in Idaho. They were very family oriented and made us feel very welcome. Their entire team was in their 20s then, lots of energy and innovative ideas. What we really liked their simple operating model – weekly flavors, simple menu. This led to reduced COGs and easier operations. After thorough due diligence, collecting data and building a comprehensive business case, we decided to go ahead and signed the area development agreement with Crispy Cones.
Next phase was finding a suitable location for the store. Since Crispy Cones was a new brand, we wanted a location which had organic foot traffic at the same time convenient to drive and park. We were also looking at a store around ~1200 SF with reasonable rent and decent driving distance from our home in East Brunswick. After 8 long months of false starts, failed negotiations and pretty much a roller coaster ride, we finally found a location in the Wick’s Shopping Plaza in Edison.
Luckily we had a contractor who worked on our house and had experience building restaurants in NYC, someone we could rely on. After 5 months of construction and hitting a few road bumps, we were finally had our grand opening on Aug 29th, 2025. My parents had flown down from India and we had our family and friends in NJ with us. The opening was attended by Mayor Sam Joshi and other officials from Edison township. It was a proud moment for us and something we cherish to this date.
The franchisor had sent their team a week prior to the grand opening for training and to support the grand opening. They did a fantastic job supporting us and creating a viral marketing campaign in the Middlesex county area. We had a lot of support from them in the months leading to the opening.
After a couple of days of grand opening they left, and that’s when the reality of running a business, and that too in the retail food industry hit us. The first week, we spent 20 hours a day working, barely had one meal. Things that could go wrong, went wrong. From the electric grill not working to sewer line backing up, managing inexperienced team members and guests not happy waiting 45 mins to get their ice cream. Every 1-star review on Google hurts as a business owner. This was definitely our rite of passing through fire. At the same time, we were not able to spend as much time with our son and made us really question what we had gotten ourselves into. At the same time we still had our day jobs to take care of. The reality of day-to-day running a store was a lesson in humility that no business case or a school can teach you!
We decided to take it one day at a time, create a system to train ourselves and our staff to learn from our mistakes and keep improving. From day 1 we had decided that we would not compromise on the quality of our product and guest experience, even if it means higher costs. We are making steady progress in improving our operations, managing guest experience and our team members. Just like the rest of the industry, we are facing headwinds from increasing costs due to higher gas prices, inflation and also reduced discretionary spending by the customers.
We operate as a team, with Nafisa managing the store and I take on the backend functions of inventory, accounting, payroll etc. We feel that we have professionally grown, but this has also personally got us closer together as we make decisions for the business. This is also given us an opportunity to teach our son the values of hard work and entrepreneurship.
After a year we are really proud to bring this exciting dessert experience to the Edison area. We are humbled by the response we got from the community members is accepting us. We are grateful to all our team members, most of whom are students from the Middlesex Community College and Rutgers University for their hard work. It also makes us feel proud that in a very small way, we were able to support these students as they go on to build great careers and become leaders in the community.
We are excited and optimistic about the future, knowing very well that we would run into obstacles and road bumps along the way. Our greatest joy is still to watch a child smile when they have our ice cream.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We own Crispy Cones franchise in Edison, NJ. More about the franchise:
Crispy Cones is an American take on the chimney cone from Prague. The dough is rolled by hand every morning, grilled on a rotisserie right in front of the guest, dusted with cinnamon sugar and then filled with a spread, soft serve ice cream, fruit and toppings. The cone is vegan on its own. The menu is simple on purpose, with a new specialty flavor every week, which keeps our operations easy and our food cost under control.
What sets it apart is that the cone is the dessert, not just something to hold the ice cream. It comes off the grill warm and crispy on the outside, soft inside, and the ice cream goes in while it is still warm. Nobody else around here is doing that. Most dessert places compete on flavors or toppings, but the base is the same cup or cone everyone has had before. Here the guest watches their cone being made, picks their own spread and toppings, and ends up with something that is a little bit of a show. It is a treat people take pictures of and bring their friends back to try. It also does not feel like a kid’s ice cream shop, we get teenagers, couples on a date and families all in the same evening.
The company was started by Jeremy and Kait Carlson, a young couple who began with a roadside tent in Idaho. They went on Shark Tank in March 2023 and got a deal with Barbara Corcoran, $200,000 for 20%. That episode changed everything for them. Franchise applications came in from all over the country, they signed Sysco as their distributor and today there are stores in about 14 states. The headquarters is still in Rexburg, Idaho and it still feels like a family business when you talk to them.
Our store in Wick Plaza, Edison was the first Crispy Cones in New Jersey. We opened on Aug 29th, 2025 with Mayor Sam Joshi at our grand opening. A second NJ store has opened in Voorhees, NJ and two more locations are coming up.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
We are launching a catering service offer and are excited to bring this product for social and office events.
Pricing:
- Crispy Cone – $9.69
- Hot Fruit Cone – $7.59
- Ice Cream Cup – $5.59
- Ice Cream Pint – $12.99
- Half Pint – $7.09
Contact Info:
- Website: https://crispycones.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crispycones/
- Facebook: https://www.tiktok.com/@crispycones
- Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/company/crispycones
