By Josh Bergeron

The Selma Times-Journal

 

Selma is now the home of an award-winning sweet treat.

The Selma-Dallas County Chamber of Commerce presented Sweet Advantages — an ice cream shop on Lauderdale Street — with the Rising Star Award.

The award is presented monthly to a person or business that exemplifies excellent customer service, executive chamber director Sheryl Smedley said.

“It’s all about making sure that your customers are happy above everything else,” Smedley said. “We think that Sweet Advantages is a great example of excellent customer service.”

Sweet Advantages received the award after being nominated by a customer. Other winners include Moore-Stewart Ford and Sherwin Williams.

Sweet Advantages owner Towanda Gibson said the award is especially meaningful because Sweet Advantages is nearing its one-year anniversary in Selma

“We try to make sure that our customers are happy,” Gibson said. “We also try to blend Selma into the look of our store. I think it’s great to recognize mom and pop shops in Selma.”

Sweet Advantages began in Oct. 2012 in the Selma Mall, but the original inspiration for the store came from a candy shop in Bamberg, Germany.

While stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army, Towanda Gibson and her husband, Nathan, opened a candy shop in 2001 on the Bamberg military base.

“The Germans used to come onto the base all the time to get American candy,” Towanda Gibson said. “Our shop in Germany eventually expanded to have one ice cream freezer. We moved back to Selma because Nathan is from here and decided to try opening a similar shop.”

She said Sweet Advantages has been profitable enough to consider opening a second store, but hasn’t decided on a location.

In October, the chamber will present its 12th Rising Star Award. Smedley encouraged Selma and Dallas County residents to call the chamber office at 875-7241 to nominate a person or business.