A cool breeze buffeted the ancient trees on the grounds of San Juan Bautista Mission, a welcome respite from the hot South Valley temperatures.
Directly across the street, the Margot’s Ice Cream Parlor sign swayed lazily in the gentle wind. A homemade notice on the screen door read, “Close the door. The air conditioner is on.”
Small touches like a screen door bearing a hand-lettered sign carries one back to a foregone time, a tender reminder of when life wasn’t so fast-paced. Or as complicated.
Inside the spacious shop with its pretty pink walls, two ice cream freezers spanned one wall while a collection of tables and chairs dotted the wooden floor. Old-fashioned “penny candy” type treats were available for sale, but it’s the homemade chocolates and enticing ice cream that draws visitors inside.
Cone choices range from the familiar crispy cone to waffle cones enrobed in rich chocolate. For the less adventurous, ice cream can be had in a cup. The owner, Margot Tankersley, treated me to a scoop of scrumptious Kauai Pie ice cream atop a
sugar cone.
Margot and I met 19 years ago. A young, single mom of then 7-year-old Kayla, Margot had recently moved back to her hometown of Hollister to begin a new life. Back then, life revolved around a grueling course in Salinas to become a
licensed esthetician.
We were brought together in our small class of aspiring estheticians. A recent empty-nester, I recall this time as my “Earth Mother” phase. Despite the 18-year difference in our ages, Margot and I clicked immediately. I found her to be a perfect delight.
I soon learned that Margot is a girl with boundless energy. Graduating before the rest of us, she was soon building her skin care clientele in Hollister.
But that was just the beginning.
While still in esthetician school, Margot was perfecting the art of candy making—specifically her own chocolate truffles in many wonderful varieties dubbed Kayla’s Kandies. Carrying her little basket of delectable chocolates to class, she soon had many devoted fans.
Wanting a permanent place to prepare and market her truffles, she ventured into the ice cream business, opening Margot’s Ice Cream Parlor in 1996. Beginning with a more basic brand of ice cream, it wasn’t long before she heard about her current line, Lapperts, a premium ice cream that originated in Hawaii.
And of course, Margot being Margot, shortly thereafter she and daughter Kayla were bound for Hawaii where she met the company’s founder, Walter Lappert, who explained how his ice creams were made with all natural flavors and colors. She was sold.
“When people see our pistachio ice cream they’re surprised because it isn’t the bright green color that they’re used to,” Margot said with a laugh.
In 2011, the historic building housing Margot’s Ice Cream Parlor experienced an interior remodeling that forced Margot to close the business for several months, which coincided with one of the busiest times for her shop. From February through June, several hundred school children a week drop in for ice cream after touring the old Mission across the street.
But she soon bounced back, Margot-like, and business is booming. As we chatted, she frequently hopped up to lend a hand behind the counter.
Also visiting the shop that afternoon were Margot’s younger sister, Katie, and her mom, Naomi, who opened the business with Margot and remains a part-owner. I enjoyed warm hugs from both women before they were off, back to work at another store on the street.
Despite her busy life, Margot found time for new love, her husband Craig, who is the general manager of the theater in Hollister. Their daughter, Laurie, now 11, completes the little family.
The Tankersleys like keeping things close to home.
“I would HATE to commute!” exclaimed Margot, her expressive cornflower blue eyes widening.
And so they don’t. At least not very far. Because being close to home and family is what Margot loves most, and she’s keeping it that way.
Gale Hammond is a writer and freelance photographer who has lived in Morgan Hill since 1983. Reach her at ga***************@ya***.com.
