Jefferson’s: Ice cream with a warm welcome

Jefferson’s ice cream shop is only two months old, but two years in the making. Co-created by Christopher and Celine Thompson, the Balham-based ice cream shop is already a hot-spot with queues out the door. Coming from a property background the pair were architecturally-focused in the planning stage, considering every minute detail.

On the hunt for a point-of-sale system that blended seamlessly into their beautiful shop, Christopher found that “Everything out there is just functionality and no design”, but then he came across Bouncepad.

“It doesn’t take up a great chunk of space and it looks minimalist. It’s the fact that it works so well as well – from a functional point of view. I know it seems like a simple thing but it’s the first thing that most customers see. You go into a lot of shops and there’s this big chunky till machine and it takes away from everything else you’ve done. We spent an inordinate amount of time worrying about that because we have this beautiful natural stone top. The last thing I wanted to do was clutter it down with loads of hardware. We are also cashless, it’s a very modern way of doing things so it all ties in. We work with iZettle who have a very simple minimalistic machine – not one of those chunky ones – so it all ties in well.”

“You go into a lot of shops and there’s this big chunky till machine and it takes away from everything else you’ve done. We spent an inordinate amount of time worrying about that because we have this beautiful natural stone top. The last thing I wanted to do was clutter it down with loads of hardware”

Christopher chose the Counter Flex, highlighting its most useful properties as its aesthetic, security (using a tethered cable for extra safety) and versatility. “It really makes a difference for our team because they are at the counter a long time and they all have their different height preferences. We’ve got a foot in height difference and it actually allows them to be more comfortable.”

“You go into a lot of ice cream shops and it’s quite cold…We were trying to create something where people really want to come and spend time”

Jefferson’s is just as much a hang-out spot as it is an ice cream parlor. “You go into a lot of ice cream shops and it’s quite cold – not somewhere you want to stay for long. You go in, get your ice cream and leave. We were trying to create something where people really want to come and spend time. Some of the busiest times are actually in the evening; we are open until 10pm and 11pm on the weekends. We get so many people coming after yoga or taking the kids to scouts and it’s a really nice atmosphere.”