Meet Ken Schulenburg

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ken Schulenburg and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ken, what do you attribute your success to?
Love what you do. Do what you love.

My whole career has been building and leading successful teams. I have had the great privilege and opportunity to travel and live all over the country working for different retail organizations. Each organization and place that I have lived has taught me new skills and helped me build what I have created today. I am a passionate learner of life experiences and the fromt the experiences of others.

I ended up specializing in two things during my retail career: Opening new stores/markets and fixing broken stores/markets. This always created new challenges and taught me to be a creative problem solver. I always saw obstacles as challenges and whenever I was told that something couldn’t be done, I would work twice as hard to make it happen.  Drive, determination, and passion for people have been the keys to my success.

I bring these skills to everything I do, especially with Cali Cream. We have opened both our shops during challenging times.  Encinitas opened during the last recession and our downtown San Diego shops just opened during the pandemic.  These times called for a lot of drive, determination and passion for people.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am most excited about having a business that makes people truly happy. Ice Cream is fun and the way we do it at Cali Cream takes it to the next level of fun.

People, Ice Cream, and Community. At Cali Cream, we empower and trust our team to do whatever it takes to take care of our guests and have fun while doing it. Julie and I start by interviewing every person that we welcome into our Cali Cream family. Our focus is looking for people that have leadership skills, peer accountability experiences, and are self motivated. We are all on the same level and it is just as important for me to coach, teach, train, and hold the team accountable as it is for the team to coach, teach, train, and hold me accountable. This takes a special person to work in this type of environment and we believe that everyone that we bring on board is ready for the responsibility and challenges that it brings.

We believe that we have built and developed an amazing homemade local ice cream. We source local Real California Dairy, using a natural Super Premium mix and we focus on sourcing California ingredients to add into our ice cream. Plus, we are proud to say that our cream comes straight from the cow to our shops in 7 days. This is important because it allows us to support other local businesses, dairy farms and farms of California. Depending on which shop you are visiting but we offer 55 to 70 ice cream/dairy-free/sugar-free flavors every day.    We have something for everyone.  But let’s not forget that at Cali Cream, the most important ingredient that we put into every small batch is LOVE. We often say, “It’s not ice cream, it is Cali Cream.”

Lastly, we pride ourselves in being active in the community. We are constantly involved with local schools, events, sports organizations, and community centers. It gives us joy to know we are a community hub. In that, we are often told by our locals that many of them will not come until they see a line, because then they know they will run into an old friend, neighbor, teacher, or old sports team coach. This type of community is important to us as the one thing we want to be known for is ‘creating memories.’

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First, I would take them to Cali Cream and i would give them the private tour and then overload them with ice cream. After that we would grab a cone and walk down to Moonlight Beach. By far the best beach line from Ponto to Del Mar. We would pick a direction and just walk with the surf and sand hitting our feet. From there, we would walk through Encinitas, the best beach town in all of California. Check out the local shops like Hansens and eateries like Encinitas Ale House (Locally World Famous Burgers and a beer), Fish 101 (Oysters and Poke Bowl), Juanita’s (California Burrito), Swami’s (breakfast), Leucadia Donuts and Captain Keno’s (voted one of the best dive bars in San Diego).

As we head out of town, we would visit Las Cuatro Milpas (taco’s are old school and amazing), Pizza Port (pizza and a beer), Rocky’s (burger), and Rakiraki Ramen.

We would spend time jet skiing at Mission Bay. Go to Ponto for some more beach time, surfing, and body boarding. Then take in the energy and San Diego vibe by spending time downtown roaming the streets and hanging out in the Gaslamp area going from roof top club to roof top club.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to do a shout out to Grandpa Schulenburg. . I remember visiting him in Boxford, Ma and making ice cream together since I was 4 years old. He spent many summers being patient teaching and making ice cream with me.  There were always 2 things that he loved to make. One being ice cream and the other blueberry pancakes. To this day, I still make both and if you think my ice cream is good you should really try my blueberry pancakes. While, is not here today, I am often told by my father that he would be really proud of we have created.

The other person that deserves a lot of credit is Juliana Ortiz. She has really pushed and supported me in making this dream a reality. She works side by side with me every day and together we make an amazing team. We balance each in many ways and I appreciate the different perspective that she brings into our brand.  Having a her in my life has been a blessing and I am always impressed with how driven and passionate she is about what we have created together.

Website: https://calicreamonlineordering.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calicreamencinitas/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenschulenburg/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/calicreamencinitas
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cali-cream-homemade-ice-cream-encinitas-2