Not having the best of luck with their college endeavors, two Long Island friends teamed up to create an ice cream brand known today throughout the world. Sharing a similar taste for a cool desert, Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen received their initial training through a correspondence course on ice cream making through the University of Penn State. First considering a bagel business, but proved way too expensive, Ben and Jerry pooled their life savings and secured a small bank loan, setting out to create a few of the ice cream treats they had always dreamt about.
   Setting up shop in an old garage in Burlington, Vermont, the friends opened the doors of Ben and Jerry’s in 1978. Enjoying quick success, the duo began supplying restaurants and grocery stores throughout the state. Their first franchised Scoop Shop opened in Shelburne in 1981, and the company offered stock shares in 1984.
   Surviving a squeeze attempt by Pillsbury, a case of a David slaying Goliath, Ben and Jerry's winning lawsuit resulted in reams of free publicity. Ben and Jerry's is now a Unilever brand, with flavors of Cherry Garcia, Cinnamon Buns, Chocolate Therapy and Americone Dream, how could you not be tempted?

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