It’s been a roller-coaster of a year for Cleveland Cookie Dough owners Vicki and Steve Kotris. After starting the edible cookie dough company in 2018, business was booming, and earlier this year the couple secured a 1,100 foot space at Clifton Corners to expand and open Remixx Ice Cream + Cereal Bar—offering soft serve ice cream mixed with cereal and other treats, along with sweet drizzles of honey, chocolate, or peanut butter.

The Kotrises were on target in early 2020 to open Remixx by June and continue their Cleveland Cookie Dough presence in South Park Mall when COVID-19 hit and plans got complicated.

But as of September, Remixx is finally open and Cleveland Cookie Dough has pivoted to strictly catering and food truck sales.

“It has been quite a journey, that’s about the only word I can use to describe it,” says Vicki Kotris. “Boy, have things changed lot. We went from closing one location, to pivoting our food truck business and then spent the past six months bringing another sweet dream to life.”

Kotris says the challenges have been tough to overcome. “Two weeks before the world changed, we had just written the biggest check of our lives to our contractor,” she says of starting the remodeling of the Remixx space at 11512 Clifton Blvd. “They were supposed to start by the week of St. Patrick’s Day.”

While Cleveland Cookie Dough operated out of its food truck, often doing two pop-up events with preordering and contactless delivery, the Kotrises tried to also open Remixx this past summer—when the weather is prime for ice cream.

But the coronavirus kept delaying plans. “We had a lot of setbacks, it felt like anything that could go wrong went wrong,” she recalls. “Opening while it was still warm in Cleveland was our main motivation.”

Despite the setbacks, Kotris says they kept moving forward and ultimately hosted the grand opening on September 12. Customers first select either a cup, cone, or milkshake, then choose from 13 different cereals and 25 mix-ins, and then pick from six drizzles to top off their indulgent, self-designed desserts.

Popular pre-selected choices include the Cleveland Shuffle (peanut butter Cap’n Crunch, brownie bites with a crunch coat, and peanut butter sauce); Sweet Symphony (Frosted Flakes, vanilla wafer, mixed berries, and marshmallow drizzle); and Cardi-Bee (Honey Nut Cheerios, Golden Grahams, banana, and a honey drizzle), among other concoctions.

Kotris says Remixx has been well-received and they are hoping to start delivery service soon. She says they already offer catering.

“When I look at the space now, it’s so beautiful and I’m so glad we kept going,” she says. “I hope we become a staple in the Edgewater neighborhood.”

Remixx is open Monday though Friday, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.