VENICE, Calif. — In the heat of the Venice Boardwalk, there is a cold war going on between two ice cream stores: the historical Charly Temmel and their new next door neighbor Ben & Jerry’s.
Helmut Elmann, 63, is the owner of this Charly Temmel. His daughter Kimberly and wife Susie take turns helping him out.
“Why I love this place so much is because I’m surrounded with my family, I stay with my family, I’m together with my family,” said Elmann.
This ice cream legacy started in 1994 when Elmann was walking with the store’s namesake and his friend, Charly Temmel.
“We came over here on a Sunday on a weekend, we walked on this boardwalk, that was 25 years ago and there was a sandwich place right here," said Elmann. "Two brothers and they were fighting each other. They argued. We came in here and we asked them if they wanted to sell the shop and they right away they said yes, we want to sell it. So next day we took the shop and that's how we started this thing, that’s how it began.”
Temmel had ice cream stores in his native Austria, so they used his recipes, manufacturing capabilities, and brand when setting this one up. Elmann helped with the store but kept his main job as a chef.
But it caught up to him about 10 years ago—an overworked Elmann suffered a heart attack. That same year, Temmel gave the store to Helmut and his family, so they could focus just on selling ice cream.
“We’ve been here in the business on the beach for 25 years, on the beach in California, and there is nothing better than this. It’s so beautiful, the weather, the sunshine and pretty much the peace here,” said a smiling Elmann.
But spring of last year brought a new flavor, rocky road.
“Oh my god I was shocked, I almost got a heart attack when I heard that next door someone comes in with ice cream, and not just somebody, Ben and Jerry’s,” said Elmann.
The presence of their new neighbor has cut into their bottom line.
“It was a tough time and it’s still a tough time because I made 25 to 30 percent less than I usually do, and that means I have to get my savings and pay the rent with my savings. And if this keeps going like that I don’t know how long I can hold that up," he said.
Spectrum News 1 reached out to the Ben & Jerry’s franchise next door, and they sent the following statement:
“It is less than ideal being next door to Charly Temmel, but it was previously a gelato place called Venice Coffee and Creamery, so we did not change the existing use of the space. Ben & Jerry’s is nationally known, but the Venice Boardwalk location is locally owned and operated by our family. It enables us to provide great, well-paying jobs to a lot of locals and make a difference in the community."
Elmann said that although the previous tenant did serve ice cream, it’s the Ben and Jerry’s name that is having the biggest impact on his business.
“They’re not a mom and pop shop because they have six, seven employees working. They’re not family oriented, they’re not related family wise. We have here my wife is working, my daughter, me, it’s all family business, this is what’s called a family business," Elmann said.
Now Elmann is having to get creative. To attract new customers, he has expanded the menu to include waffles.
“I just want to survive, that’s all I need," he said. "I don’t need more because what are you going to do, you cannot take it in your grave anyways, because money is just money. Money doesn’t buy you happiness.”
The Los Angeles City Council may restrict chain stores along the Venice Beach.
A motion passed April 17 instructs the Los Angeles Department of City Planning and the City Attorney to carry out a feasibility study outlining the zoning and other land use planning tools to encourage independent retail development on Ocean Front Walk in Venice.
This could also help longtime Venice vendors threatened by new chain stores.