Customers standing at the Mega Maki/Velvet Freeze counter may appear to be watching a tennis match.

Their heads turn from menu board to menu board. The one to the left provides instructions for ordering Mega Maki sushi. The one to the right lists Velvet Freeze ice cream flavors.

The opposite offerings seem odd, but soon, patrons who came for sushi consider ice cream, and those who want ice cream start asking about sushi.

The trio of chefs who run the shop patiently answer all questions. To them, sushi and ice cream makes complete sense.

“A lot of people come in because they want to see what this is all about,” said Josh Thaxton, who runs Mega Maki sushi with Mark Scharaga. Karel Blaas is the owner/ice cream maker at Velvet Freeze.

In February, the men launched the double-personality store to revive their individual businesses and grow something new. By co-branding and dividing expenses, they are putting a twist on shared space concepts usually reserved for office and retail operations.

No Surrender

“Had I started this [Velvet Freeze] three years ago here, I would have probably been in my year five [profit] projection by now,” Blaas said of the downtown enterprise.

Blaas first opened Velvet Freeze ice cream shop in 2011 just off South College Road. About a year later, Scharaga asked Blaas to craft specialty flavors. Scharaga wanted easy but interesting desserts for his then-fledgling Asian concept, Tamashii Drinks*Sushi*Spoons on Masonboro Loop Road.

The pair hit it off, and Blaas began supplying Scharaga with Asian-leaning churns such as ginger apple and sesame honey banana.

As Blaas and Scharaga became friends, they discussed small-business challenges – mainly location.

Although Velvet Freeze was based in a charming, mid-20th century home with a cozy porch and walking distance from a residential area, Blaas said he wasn’t seeing enough foot traffic to keep it on track.

Wholesaling helped, but Blaas was considering a change.

Large residential communities surrounded Tamashii, but the restaurant’s off-the-beaten-track spot went unnoticed by most of Wilmington, Scharaga said. Plus, his sophisticated approach and finesse with sushi earned Tamashii a reputation as a special-occasion spot, he said. To survive, Tamashii required weekday regulars.

“Tamashii was failing, and it was a constant struggle to piece it together,” Scharaga said.

When Scharaga sought kitchen help, Blaas recommended Thaxton. Blaas had worked with him at another Wilmington Asian restaurant. Thaxton became worried about Tamashii’s future, and he and Scharaga began brainstorming ways to cut overhead.

Eliminating table service was one thought.

Inspired by supermarket sushi take-out stations, Thaxton created a small, pick-up-only menu. He and Scharaga knew the Tamashii location would not work for the concept they had in mind: customizable, high-quality but low-priced, take-out sushi. As they mulled alternate settings, a Tamashii customer dining one evening mentioned that the downtown Rita’s Italian Ice on North Front Street, between Market and Princess streets, might be shuttering.

Rita’s locked up, Thaxton and Scharaga found an investor, Tamashii closed at 2013’s end and the men started work on Mega Maki at its new home.

But another component would still come.

“The location fed the idea,” Thaxton said of Blaas’ involvement.

Velvet Freeze’s numbers were still not where Blaas wanted them to be, fueling his desire to move the store.

“It made me nervous,” he said. “I wanted that [high foot traffic] space that you just can’t say no to, like the beach or downtown.”

Blaas found it at Mega Maki. He hadn’t thought about a shared space, but the location’s visibility, market, steady stream of passersby and ice cream parlor history were irresistible.

Shared and separate

Blaas, Thaxton and Scharaga knew they had an oddball idea, but each felt that sushi and ice cream together would work, even if Blaas didn’t offer Asian-inspired flavors.

Both segments are popular with consumers and both fit the take-out mold, they said.

Just a month in business, they see growing public understanding of the mix. As they work together, the plan makes more and more sense.

Shared expenses are obvious benefits. The two stores spilt rent and utilities, lowering each business’s overhead and start-up costs. All being chefs, the men may cover each other’s stations if someone has to step away or needs help during a rush, thereby cutting employee budgets.

Some unexpected advantages have surfaced, too. Scharaga, Thaxton and Blaas talk over ideas – for instance, adding a to-go container of Velvet Freeze ice cream to Mega Maki’s combo sushi meal. Thaxton and Scharaga also convinced Blaas that ice cream delivery in the sushi meal and on its own would work.

Watching Blaas scoop ice cream into cones got Thaxton and Scharaga thinking about riffing off the ice cream cone idea. They’re researching hand-held containers that will allow customers to walk out with ready-to-munch hand rolls packaged in open, plastic cone containers.

They market the businesses together, but realizing they target similar and different markets, they also advertise separately.

Not everything can be shared.

Mega Maki offers full-service catering, whether its American food or any other cuisine the customer desires. Velvet Freeze maintains its own wholesale business. Mega Maki and Velvet Freeze each have their own cash registers, accounting systems and refrigerators.

“Sushi doesn’t go well with ice cream in the coolers,” Thaxton said with a chuckle.

The trio balance kitchen time, too. Blaas needs the kitchen more often than Thaxton and Scharaga, who prepare sushi to-order in front of customers. When Blaas is in the kitchen creating flavors such as maple wasabi or bourbon bacon chocolate pecan, Scharaga and Thaxton give him space – unless he asks for help.

“We have all had our little disagreements, but we’re all adults and we talk about them,” Scharaga said.

Finding the right partners is key to shared space success in a highly visible food-service setting, the men said. Such quasi-partners in a small operation work together every day.

Personalities must share similar goals, skill sets and work ethics, and have a legal agreement outlining shared responsibilities, Blaas, Scharaga and Thaxton said.

Mega Maki/Velvet Freeze’s quick rise convinces the guys that the concept will thrive.

“This is something I want to franchise,” Scharaga said. “This was a glimmer of an idea back in November,” Blaas added. “Now, it’s full-blown.”