Editorial
Front Page - Friday, October 16, 2009
Signal Mountain Realtor opens tasty new business downtown
Samara Litvack
When Cheryl Sims decides she wants to do something, she does it. In her 20 years as a banker, she heard several times that her positive attitude and exceptional people skills would make her a great real estate agent. So, after giving it some thought and discussing it with her husband, Jeff, she decided to give it a whirl.
“I just went to take the classes,” she said. “Because I live on Signal Mountain, I sort of knew I wanted to work for the Crye-Leike on Signal Mountain because I’d heard great things about the broker, Dot Heggie. She’s a very good teaching broker.
“And also, Crye-Leike offers the college, Crye-Leike College, to the new associates so I wanted to go there just because I felt more comfortable getting a good, solid foundation of knowledge.”
So fresh out of the banking industry, working part-time at a tennis apparel store, Sims began night classes to earn her licensing. It took her a while to do it, but she enjoyed the process. And two years ago, almost to the day, she began her new career at Crye-Leike.
While the working with people and selling houses proved a natural fit, she realized early on that real estate had ups and downs.
“Even your best friends know six Realtors,” she says, “so it’s tough to break into the market.”
Despite the hurdles, Sims was determined to become a successful Realtor. She was excited to learn the ropes, happy to do whatever asked of her at Crye-Leike and eager to get started on her first transaction.
“I will never forget how excited I was,” she says. “I was doing floor duty and it was my first phone call and I had a young, first-time homebuyer. She called and she was looking at a house in North Chattanooga. She was interested. She let me send her some listings. Oh, I was excited.”
That transaction took several months to complete, showing Sims right off the bat the dedication real estate takes, but it didn’t dampen her spirits. She took that young homebuyer and her mother around town, showing them houses. And when it finally came time to close, she was just as excited as they were.
“My husband always accuses me of being a match maker,” she says. “The matchmaking with people, it doesn’t always work out so great. But the matchmaking with houses is fun. It’s a little more productive, and you sometimes even make money with it.”
Sims says she has made lifetime relationships with many of her clients. And while she’s had her feelings hurt by potential buyers, as well, she says the move to real estate was definitely a smart one.
A mother of a 15-year-old son, a 12-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old daughter, Sims’ schedule as a Realtor has allowed her to be very present in her children’s lives. She’s attended school functions, after-school events and has even been able to fit family vacation time into her schedule.
One favorite vacation spot of the family is Hilton Head, S.C. For years, one of the favorite stops on the island has been an Italian ice cream shop called Pino Gelato.
“When you’re on vacation, rarely do you go back unless they’re just really good,” Sims says.
Her husband especially loved the Italian ice cream, and kept mentioning how great it would be to bring Pino Gelato back home to Chattanooga.
“To me, it was just a pipe dream,” says Sims. But, a couple years and a lot of hard work later, she and her husband opened their very own Pino Gelato store on in downtown Chattanooga, on Broad Street.
Served for more than 200 years, “gelato” is the Italian word for ice cream, but the actual product has many qualities that set it apart. At first glance, it is obvious that gelato is a much different consistency than traditional ice cream. And, because it’s made with primarily milk versus traditional heavy cream, it obtains a much heavier texture.
Gelato is also a very dense product, as it is only 10 percent air, versus the 40 to 50 percent air in traditional ice cream. And thanks to its all-natural, fresh ingredients, gelato is much healthier than your average ice cream.
“All of those gelatos are less than 200 calories for a half-cup serving,” says Sims.
Pino Gelato serves a great variety of Italian ice cream, including cookies and cream, chocolate cheesecake, peanut butter, mint chocolate chip and more. It also offers sorbetto (a dairy free, fat free alternative to gelato, a half cup of which is only 100 calories), pizza cones (which are actual pizza ingredients baked in a dough cone, not pizza-flavored gelato) and beverages, including sodas and freshly ground Stone Cup Coffee.
Sims still sells real estate with Crye-Leike, thanks to wireless Internet and her cell phone, and her husband works full-time at Unum, but they both dedicate much of their time to their new joint venture. And business seems to be fitting into downtown Chattanooga quite nicely.
Because many restaurants that surround it are closed on
Mondays, the Sims decided to follow suit. Pino Gelato is open Tuesday through Thursday, from noon to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, from noon to 10 p.m.; and Sunday, from 1 to 9 p.m.
Sims and her husband are in the shop most days, but she credits her “unbelievable” staff with much of the success of the business.
“I’ve been amazed and I am very pleasantly surprised,” she said. “I’ve had primarily high school and college students this summer and they were all so responsible. Rarely could they not make it, but if they couldn’t, they would find somebody to work for them. They’re just enthusiastic. I was amazed at that kind of work ethic.”
She also speaks highly of her store manager, who she also refers to as “reliable” and “amazing.” Each person on her staff has taken pride in Pino Gelato, and their dedication shows in the atmosphere and the service.
But with Sims’ contagious level of excitement, it’s easy to see why so many people are jumping on board the Pino Gelato bandwagon. Just ask Sims’ children, who are all very excited that the family business is such a tasty one.
“They request to-go orders regularly,” she says.
For more information on the new Pino Gelato, visit www.pinogelato-tn.com.
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