ATCO Properties & Management, along with partner Shorenstein Properties, LLC, announced today that dairy-free ice cream purveyor Seemingly Overzealous will open its first brick and mortar location at 701 Keswick Avenue Suite 102 at Camp North End.
Seemingly Overzealous was founded by partners Garrett Tichy and Jessica Berresse, who met in 2020 and connected over ice cream. Their first date included taste testing an ice cream flight – complete with flavors from different ice cream shops in Charlotte, as well as one created at home by Tichy as part of a new pandemic-era hobby. As their relationship grew, so did the business, which has transformed from sharing leftovers with friends to selling to the public online.
With no dietary restrictions themselves, Tichy and Berresse are focused on creating dairy-free ice cream that can be enjoyed by all without sacrificing on quality. Customers can expect both the standard flavors they love, like mint chocolate chip and vanilla, as well as more unconventional flavor options such as blood orange carrot ginger, banana pecan maple, matcha with honey and lemon, peanut butter & jelly, and much more. Flavors will rotate on a monthly basis and the funkier the better – including their corresponding names, which are derived from the founders’ personal experiences. While cautious to say there will never be an exception, any flavor that is not dairy-free will be explicitly marked.
The couple collaborated with creative director and designer, Pablo Agurcia, to bring their vision for Seemingly Overzealous to life. Agurcia’s thoughtful branding and design work will serve as the foundation and inspiration for the experience customers can expect from the storefront. Working with architecture, design, and interiors firm Quin Gwinn Studio, the new 700-square-foot permanent location will include space for both kitchen and retail areas and feature a colorful palette. Branding firm Mad Goat Studio is also creating an interactive element for customers, in which each cup and pint will feature a QR code that leads to a question to spark conversation.
Berresse added: “While it’s important to us that our ice cream is absolutely delicious, Seemingly Overzealous is on a mission to inspire deeper human connection through more meaningful conversation. Garrett and I are passionate about open and honest communication with each other, and we want to encourage others to do the same. We hope our ice cream will foster those experiences that bring people closer together.”
The name ‘Seemingly Overzealous’ is a nod to their early beginnings as a couple. Putting aside their fears of ‘seeming overzealous’ in the early days of their relationship created space for them to really get to know each other.
In addition to this concept, Tichy is also the founder and owner of Charlotte-based co-working company hygge, which has operated a 10,000 square-foot location at Camp North End since 2017. As part of the company’s continued expansion, just last month, hygge acquired Advent Coworking, bringing its total locations to five and growing its membership base to 800.
“Camp North End is an exciting place to work, in addition to being where we spend a tremendous amount of time as a family,” commented Tichy. “We can’t wait to launch Seemingly Overzealous to share our passion for ice cream and build on the culture that we’ve already been cultivating.”
“We are thrilled that Seemingly Overzealous has chosen to call Camp North End home,” said Tommy Mann, Development Director of Camp North End. “Camp North End was designed as a place for people to gather and grow in community, which aligns so well with their mission. It’s always exciting to have tenants expand, and even more special when we can support the start of a tenant’s new venture.”
Developed by ATCO, Camp North End is a state-of-the-art creative development that is being designed and curated to serve the most innovative companies in Charlotte. Select Camp North End buildings, including 701 Keswick Avenue, where Seemingly Overzealous will be located, are being developed as part of a joint venture by ATCO and Shorenstein.
Seemingly Overzealous’ new location, which aims to open by late summer/early fall, is part of phase II of the development, which includes the adaptive reuse of 701 Keswick Avenue and 201 Camp Road into Class A office and retail, as well as the addition of new multifamily and a parking garage. Construction on the office, retail and parking garage portions are anticipated to be completed in June 2022, while the multifamily component is expected to begin construction in 2022 and be completed in 2024.
In the transaction, ownership was represented by Aaron Ligon and Chapman Chastain at Ascent Real Estate Partners.
This builds on January’s announcement that Best Impressions Caterers has finalized a long-term lease at 701 Keswick to create The Revelry North End, a brand-new 600-seat, 23,000-square-foot special event venue.
About Camp North End
Developed by ATCO Properties & Management, Camp North End is a state-of-the-art creative development that is being designed and curated to cater to today’s most innovative and cutting-edge companies in Charlotte. Select Camp North End buildings are being jointly developed by ATCO and Shorenstein Properties, LLC.
As one of the largest adaptive reuse projects currently underway in the U.S., the project is transforming a historic 76-acre site where people once manufactured Model T cars and assembled US Army missiles into a catalytic hub of creativity and ideas.
With over 300,000 square feet of space already redeveloped for work, artistic expression, dining and hospitality, entertainment, recreation, and community building, and another 1.5 million square feet on the way, Camp North End’s curated development will drive growth for the businesses that join its community.
For more information about Camp North End, visit the official Camp North End website at https://camp.nc/ or follow along on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn at @campnorthend.
Seemingly Overzealous
Seemingly Overzealous is an ice cream venture that aims to go beyond dessert to enter the realm of human connection by sparking thoughtful conversation. Created by partners Garrett Tichy and Jessica Berresse, Seemingly Overzealous offers customers a full range of flavor options, regardless of dietary restrictions, by making dairy free ice cream without any sacrifice to quality. With their first shop set to open this summer at Camp North End, customers can expect rotating flavors ranging from classic vanilla to the more adventurous blood orange carrot ginger. The flavors are inspired from the couple’s own personal travels and experiences, and the list of options will continue to grow limitlessly. With a focus on inclusivity and conversation, they hope to create joy and foster connection within the Charlotte community, while also delivering delicious homemade ice cream to satisfy all diets.
About ATCO
ATCO is a real estate investment and ownership platform deploying capital in select cities across the United States, with a particular emphasis on creating value through placemaking and other strategies in urban locations. ATCO seeks to improve people’s lives by creating places where they genuinely want to work, play, or live, and by doing our work with a long-term perspective.
Through eight decades and four generations, ATCO has owned, managed, and developed a diverse real estate portfolio, primarily in and around New York City and also in select markets we target. ATCO presently owns and manages more than 25 buildings ranging from high-rise office and residential towers to retail properties, from one-story industrial structures to a mixed-use former military base. The portfolio of New York City properties includes: 555 Fifth Avenue, 40 Central Park South, 41 West 58th Street, 630 Third Avenue, 381 and 373 Park Avenue South, 515 Madison Avenue and the Atlas Terminals. Nationally, the company owns properties in Charlotte and Chapel Hill, NC; Austin, Texas; Indianapolis, Indiana; Darien, Stamford and Westport, Connecticut. Internationally, ATCO has investments in seven European countries.
About Shorenstein Properties LLC
Founded in 1924, Shorenstein Properties LLC is a privately-owned, real estate firm that owns and operates high-quality office, residential and mixed-use properties across the U.S., with offices in San Francisco and New York. Since 1992, Shorenstein has sponsored twelve closed-end investment funds with total equity commitments of $8.8 billion, of which Shorenstein committed $723.5 million. The firm uses its integrated investment and operating capabilities to take advantage of opportunities that, at the particular time in the investment cycle, offer the most attractive returns. Investments have included ground-up developments, asset repositioning and stabilized assets; investment structures have included asset acquisitions, mezzanine loans, preferred equity investments and structured joint ventures. These funds have invested in properties totaling 67 million square feet in transactions with a gross investment value in excess of $16 billion.
