About
ABOUT US
Founded by husband and wife duo Ryan and Geri-Martha O’Hara, Big Spoon Creamery humbly began as an artisanal ice cream pop-up in the couple’s driveway in 2014. After meeting while working under James Beard Award Winning Chef Frank Stitt, the newlyweds found themselves dreaming of their own business. Leveraging their passions and culinary talents, they ultimately landed on ice cream. After receiving tremendous support from the community, Big Spoon Creamery was born.
The O’Haras strategically built their business, evolving their pop-ups to an ice cream cart, a truck, and eventually, a brick-and mortar location in Avondale in 2017. Today, Big Spoon Creamery has two locations in the Birmingham area and a third in Huntsville, AL, where they offer their handmade artisanal ice cream with unmatched hospitality.
Leaning into their culinary backgrounds, Big Spoon is proud to offer a rotation of seasonal flavors that celebrate local and high-quality ingredients with impeccable attention to detail. From flavors like “The DeCarlo” that features ricotta ice cream and rum-soaked chiffon cake made in-house, to Honeysuckle Blackberry that incorporates wild foraged local honeysuckle, guests can expect to experience world class ice cream in the heart of Alabama.
our team
ryan O’hara, owner/founder
As Co-Owner of Big Spoon Creamery, Ryan O’Hara works in tandem with his wife, Geri-Martha, to offer guests a world-class experience with their artisanal ice cream and unparalleled hospitality. A Magic City native, Ryan grew up in the suburbs of Birmingham and began his culinary career in 2007. After working at multiple Birmingham area restaurants, he eventually landed at famed Birmingham institution, Bottega. There, he learned and developed his culinary knowledge under the leadership of James Beard Award Winning Chef Frank Stitt, and was later promoted to sous chef of Stitt’s French bistro, Chez FonFon.
While Geri-Martha oversees the back-of-house operations to create Big Spoon’s rotating seasonal flavors, Ryan focuses on operations, building their team, and developing leaders that embody the company’s culture. Through intentional hiring and thoughtful employee onboarding, Ryan has created a team that finds joy in taking hospitality to the next level.
When Ryan isn’t at one of their shops or leading the team, he can be found spending time with the couple’s two children, playing golf, or traveling and trying new restaurants.
geri-martha O’Hara, owner/founder
As Co-Owner and Founder of Big Spoon Creamery, Geri-Martha uses her 16 years of pastry experience and passion for people to create world-class artisanal ice cream and offer unparalleled hospitality. After growing up in North Alabama, Geri-Martha graduated from the University of Alabama in 2007 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Entrepreneurship. Soon after, she began her career as a pastry chef, eventually working her way up to Executive Pastry Chef at Dodiyo’s in Homewood, AL. In 2010, she moved to New York City to expand on her pastry expertise, working under award-winning pastry chefs like Johnny Iuzzini, Dominique Ansel and Michael Laskonis. When she returned to Birmingham, she applied her learnings in her role as pastry chef at Bottega, an Italian-influenced concept from James Beard Award Winning Chef Frank Stitt.
In her role, Geri-Martha applies her extensive pastry and dessert background to develop Big Spoon’s artisanal handmade ice cream and lead her back-of-house team. Through her leadership, the team creates a rotating seasonal menu of flavors that celebrate high-quality, local ingredients. As Big Spoon continues to grow, Geri-Martha is dedicated to keeping its ice cream handmade, which includes creating each flavor’s ingredients in-house.
Geri-Martha is an active member of Les Dames D’Escoffier’s Birmingham chapter, a philanthropic organization of women leaders in the food, beverage, and hospitality industries. When she’s not leading the team at Big Spoon or brainstorming new flavors, Geri-Martha can be found spending time with her husband, Ryan, and their two sons.
