When Tim Cheek opened Maggie Moo’s in Town Center almost a decade ago, he didn’t know how big of an impact his employees and customers would have on his life.
“I met a lot of great people, and they made me a better person than I was a decade ago,” Cheek said.
Cheek went onto explain that the customers, his employees and the Robbinsville community were his top three favorite things about owning Maggie Moo’s. But they also made his decision to sell the shop all the more difficult. Cheek sold Maggie Moo’s to a new owner, who took over the ice cream parlor on Dec. 16 and renamed it Cherry On Top Ice Cream Shop.
Back in 2007, Cheek signed a 10-year agreement with the Maggie Moo’s franchise. As his 10 years were coming to a close, he had three options: sign another 10-year agreement and keep running Maggie Moo’s, privatize the business or sell it. Cheek chose to sell.
While Cheek was still passionate about running his business, he worked another full-time job at Wausau Paper, an SCA company. Working roughly 40 hours a week there, and then another 40 hours a week at Maggie Moo’s was something Cheek wasn’t sure he could continue much longer.
“Working the 80 to 90 hours a week was a lot easier in my 30s than it is in my 40s, and I didn’t think I could do it my 50s, which was the reason for the sale,” he said.
Cheek always wanted to own a business, and enjoyed every minute of the time spent running Maggie Moo’s.
“It was a dream of mine to own my own business, goodness, I’d have to say from when I was 8 years old,” Cheek said.
He added that his strongest skills in life are his people skills, which inspired him to open up an ice cream parlor since he’d be able to frequently interact with the customers in an upbeat environment.
For those who knew Cheek, his people skills were reflected in how he ran his business. Councilman Dan Schuberth said Cheek’s passion for Maggie Moo’s was evident in the way he formed friendships with his employees and customers.
“He used the shop as a force for good in the community for charity endeavours,” Schuberth said.
Cheek was heavily involved in the Robbinsville community, from sponsoring little league teams to hosting Maggie Moo’s celebrity scoop nights.
During a celebrity scoop event, Cheek would invite different community leaders—baseball coaches, elected officials, members of school staffs and churches—to get behind the counter and scoop ice cream. While they were scooping the ice cream, a portion of each sale would go toward a charity of their choice.
Schuberth participated in a celebrity scoop night last year to raise money for the National Alliance for Mental Illness, which he said was not only a great way to get everyone involved with charity work but gave him a newfound respect for how hard the employees worked to get all the orders correct.
“That’s the essence of having a strong community,” Schuberth said. “In my opinion, you can’t have a good community if you don’t have people who are working toward the collective good.”
Schuberth said Cheek also helped spur business in Town Center, as Maggie Moo’s was the second businesses to open up shop in the development. InJeanous boutique was the first.
“He took a risk on Town Center, and I feel like a lot of people were looking at this thing saying ‘I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know what this is going to be,’” Schuberth said. “He’s always been a big ambassador of the town. He was a pioneer, and I think he really encouraged others to come.”
While Schuberth praised Cheek’s community involvement, Cheek himself was much more modest. For Cheek, being able to help brighten someone else’s day was enough to keep his passion for Maggie Moo’s alive.
Hosting children’s birthday parties at Maggie Moo’s was a particular highlight for Cheek, who said hosted roughy 1,000 birthday parties.
“We all look back and remember [childhood birthdays], and there’s kids out there saying my best birthday party was at Maggie Moo’s,” he said. “That is something that really meant the world.”
People would also recognize Cheek outside the store, which he said was one of the coolest experiences of owning a business in a community like Robbinsville where people take the time to get to know each other.
When Cheek opened the store in 2007, he and his family—his wife Danielle, and two daughters Olivia, 18, and Bella, 15—lived in Burlington Township. They fell in love with the Robbinsville community and moved here five years ago.
His family shared Cheek’s bittersweet reaction when he sold the business.
“There was mixed emotions,” Cheek said. “They knew the passion I had, but they also knew that this last year was exceptionally difficult. There were quite a few vacations where I was unable to leave the store.”
Cheek added that his children are happy to “get dad back,” but will miss going to the store that their father owned for most of their lives.
Despite selling Maggie Moo’s, Cheek still plans to remain involved in the community. He said he doesn’t have any projects or big plans in the works right now besides relaxing with his family.
“Anything that Tim gets involved with I’m sure is going to be a success,” Schuberth said.
Cheek is excited to start the next chapter of his life, but he said he’ll always be grateful for everything the Robbinsville community — from his customers to his employees — has done for him.
“It meant so much that so many people came in to say goodbye and thank me, I can’t say thank you enough back,” he said.
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