Sweethaven sprinkles

Sweethaven provides school-spirited sprinkles in their ice cream shop as Williamson kids head back to school. 

 Danny Bonvissuto

Every August, before school begins, my extended family meets in downtown Franklin for ice cream. We get our cups and cones and walk up one side of Main Street, down the other and around the square, window shopping the closed boutiques and reading messages etched into the bricks (ours is in front of what is now Dear Vincent).

We started this tradition when the kids were in grade school. They’re now a high school sophomore, college freshman and college senior. 

In the past, we’ve all gotten ice cream at the same place. This year, we did a progressive dessert stroll so everyone could get what they wanted, where they wanted. First stop: Sweethaven. 

While I watched a young woman add M&Ms and crushed Oreos to my son’s chocolate cone, I noticed bins full of colorful sprinkle blends in local school colors: red and purple for Ravenwood High and Grace Christian Academy; orange, white and blue for Trinity Elementary and Summit High; red and blue for Page, Freedom Middle and Brentwood Academy; and green and yellow for Clovercroft Middle. I’ve seen a lot of sprinkles in my day, but never in school colors. 

The idea came to Katie Britt, who co-owns Sweethaven with her husband, Eric, when they opened their first location in Westhaven in July 2020. 

“With school starting right after we opened, it was the first thing that came to my mind,” she said. “It felt so fun to be able to represent all the local schools, especially when kids come out before and after the games wearing their team colors.” 

To up the game, Sweethaven hosts “Friday night battles” during the high school football season. 

“We’ll take the top two schools playing each other and offer free sprinkles in those team colors,” she said. 

The Sweethaven Sprinkles Bar at all three Sweethaven locations — Westhaven, downtown Franklin (2022) and the brand-new Brentwood spot — will offer local school-themed sprinkles through October. Then the sprinkles shift to autumn colors, bats and pumpkins for fall.  

Dedicated to quality, the Britts source their ice cream “from the dairy state of Wisconsin” and apply the same high standards to their sprinkles.

 

“People are very impressed with our sprinkle quality. They don’t have that typical waxy sprinkle taste. They’re crunchy and fresh,” Katie said. “And we love representing our community with the color blends.”