At Holy Cow Ice Cream Café, the flavors are anything but typical.
Walk up to the counter and choose from flavors that might be a little more self-explanatory, like Top Tier-amisu or Pistachio Baklava, or take a walk on the wild side with concoctions like Lunch Lady or Party Animal.
“The backbone of Holy Cow is the product,” says Rodney Nyborg, the shop’s director of business development. “One of our identifying characteristics we like to put out there is that we are ice cream obsessed—and it’s true.”
Just 25-years-old, Nyborg has made a big impact in a short amount of time. In the past five years, he’s seen the original shop in Gloucester expand to a franchise of five locations (with a sixth one in Boston on the way). He’s also helped build and operate their catering division, introduced third-party and online ordering channels, implemented a new POS (point of sale) system, and is currently in the process of launching nationwide shipping. But how do you even fall into the business of ice cream? For Nyborg, a rocky road led him to a pretty sweet career.
“I was a top student in my class [at St. John’s], very much ingrained in the traditional academic trajectory. I went to Boston College to study sociology, but in the middle of my freshman year, I decided to take some time away from school.”
When looking for something to do during his hiatus, a friend of Nyborg’s who happened to work at Holy Cow had an offer for him.
“She said, ‘Hey, I need ice cream makers.’ So I thought, ‘Well, I have no idea how to make ice cream, but it sounds kind of cool.’ I came in, trained, and after just a couple of weeks, I started to fall in love with the art and the science behind small batch ice cream production.”
After his crash course in ice cream making, Nyborg made his way back to Boston College in the fall of 2021. But once again, it just didn’t feel right.
“I wished that I was back at Holy Cow.”
And so, Nyborg officially said goodbye to Boston College and was welcomed back to Holy Cow with open arms by owner Mike Schifino. With his prior experience in his back pocket, Nyborg was appointed head ice cream maker, and shortly after that, store manager.
“It was at that point that I started seeing the long-term picture. I always had faith in the product and the brand. I thought this could be something real for me.”
During his time at Holy Cow, Nyborg has witnessed some major milestones for the business. A standout moment occurred at the 2022 North American Ice Cream Association (NAICA) convention, lovingly dubbed “Conecon” by attendees, where he represented the cafe as they won Flavor of the Year for “Ritzy AF” (a salted butter cracker ice cream featuring house-made Ritz toffee bark). It remains one of his personal favorites.
“I flew home with a massive trophy on my lap,” recalls Nyborg. “Mike, who was home with Covid during the convention, still gives me a hard time. ‘You stole the crowning achievement of my career.’”
Though recognized for ice cream excellence on a national level, Holy Cow is just as focused on giving back to the local community through fundraising efforts and donations. They even provide the ice cream for the Prep’s annual “Empty Bowls” fundraiser, where guests can purchase ceramic bowls made by High School art students and proceed to fill them up with ice cream for the ride home. In a full circle realization for Nyborg, that emphasis on community has its roots at the Prep.
“The value of engaging with the surrounding community was a big, transformative element that I took away from St. John’s. The practical skills that I took away from the Prep gave me the tools I needed to succeed at Holy Cow without needing a formal business degree.”
“Finding Holy Cow at just the right time was the perfect intersection of my upbringing and some latent interests in business, but also the prioritization of community,” he continues. “I was able to take my practical skills and education from the Prep and my drive to serve the community and put it to work here.”
P.S. The Prep is committed to the safety of all those on campus. Read about how alumnus Steve MacDonald '87 P'25 is leading the charge as the School's first director of safety and emergency management.
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