Meet Joyce Hwang, General Manager, Houston

We want to take a few minutes and introduce you to Joyce Hwang, General Manager for our newest location in Houston.  We think she’s pretty great and we thought you’d like to meet her!

SCP:  Joyce, can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you came to work for Steel City Pops?
Joyce:  I’m originally from Huntsville, Alabama and ended up in Birmingham, Alabama for college. I first started working for Steel City Pops the summer of 2013 to help pay for my summer classes. Summer of 2014, I started working for Steel City Pops again to raise money for my mission trip to China and eventually ended up becoming the Kitchen Manager for Alabama! I worked as the Kitchen Manager for a little over a year before graduating college and moving to Houston as the General Manager of the Houston location.

SCP: How are you liking Houston?
Joyce:  Houston is a great city and reminds me of a larger Birmingham…there is so much to explore and I am excited to experience all Houston has to offer! I’m also excited to have Steel City Pops in Houston because it’s so hot and humid here ALL THE TIME!  Pops are definitely a necessity.

SCP: Can you tell us about the team members at the Houston store?
Joyce:  The team members we have are awesome. They have picked up on training incredibly quickly and are already comfortable with working shifts with little to no instruction. I have to say though, their favorite part of training is trying the different pops. It’s great to see the looks on their faces when they try a new flavor. Pure delight!

SCP: How did opening day go?
Joyce: It was exciting to interact with customers on opening day and hear that many of them had been to our Dallas/Fort Worth stores and were thrilled that we were finally in Houston! We also had a lot of customers who lived in the neighborhoods around our shop and were within walking distance. They just came by to check out the shop because of all the people they saw. It was a successful and fun opening day!

SCP: We’re known for our cart vending, are you guys set up to do that yet?
Joyce:  No, we do not have any regular vending spots set up yet. We would love to hear feedback from the Houston community about where they would like to see us! They can send an email to Deidre on our Houston team with suggestions.

SCP: The Houston store looks awesome!  Can you tell us about it?
Joyce: Our store is beautiful. It’s the biggest store we have opened yet, and I love how wide open it feels. The natural lighting is perfect and gives the store a glow even when our lights aren’t on. I’m most excited about our kitchen which has plenty of room for lots of production and fruit prepping—there is a lot for our customers to see!

SCP: What else can you tell us about our newest location?
Joyce:  We may have the lowest average age of team members out of all the territories…but I love this. It gives our store a certain energy and excitement whenever customers are interacting with our team. I also love the opportunity it gives to younger team members in terms of gaining life and work experience. Several team members have already stepped up in ways that indicate maturity far beyond their years which is exciting for me to see!

Drop in to our newest location, meet Joyce, the Houston team, and try one of our handcrafted pops!

Steel City Pops
420 East 20th Street
Houston, TX 77008