Downtown Tejon was a one-way street and Plaza of the Rockies was brand new when Boston native John Krakauer ’85 hit upon the idea that would change Colorado Springs—and his life.
Ice cream.
“It started when I was walking around downtown when I was a CC student and recognized that there was something missing,” he says. “It was ice cream like we have back in Boston.”
That realization was the spark for Josh & John’s—one of the Springs’ most recognizable small businesses.
“I convinced my friend Josh, who was a high school friend of mine, to come out here after we both graduated from college to open up an ice cream store,” recalls Krakauer, co-owner of Josh & John’s.
This year, Josh & John’s celebrates 40 years of waffle cones, community gatherings, scoop buses, and flavors with names as memorable as the people who inspired them.
What began as a single storefront on Kiowa Street in 1986 has grown into seven locations across Colorado, a wholesale operation, mobile scoop buses, and a centralized production facility known as the “Churn Barn.”
After four decades, Krakauer highlights the company’s Colorado College foundations—and the influence of the Block Plan.
“I chose CC because of the Block Plan actually,” he says. “I do very well when I can focus on one thing.
“When you open up an ice cream store, it’s all about the focus that you have to put into one thing. I think I was really able to do that—I still do to this day. That’s how I operate, and I learned that skill while I was at CC.”
And Krakauer’s CC experience went way beyond academics.
A singer throughout his college years, he immersed himself in the campus music scene, performing as a tenor soloist and building lifelong friendships.
“I have very, very fond memories,” he says. “The people at CC, my friends who I still keep in touch with, the Block Plan, the classes, the professors—I just loved it.”
Those relationships shaped the philosophy behind Josh & John’s.
“The thing that I learned at CC and really learned as I was opening up the ice cream store is that things can’t be done alone,” Krakauer says. “You really need people.”
Gathering with classmates to study and problem-solve taught him the importance of collaboration, he says.
“The whole idea of community—that’s what I take away from my experience at CC. And it’s what has made Josh & John’s popular and successful.”
With community connection still at its heart, Josh & John’s regularly partners with the College, sponsors CC Hockey, and brings the Scoop Bus to campus events.
“CC is actually one of our biggest customers today,” Krakauer says. “The Scoop Bus comes, and the students come, and they buy little cups of ice cream and it’s very, very popular.”
Sometimes, “we even have RoCCy on the Scoop Bus handing out ice cream,” he says.
Today, Krakauer lives within blocks of CC—and acknowledges that he never really left. He’s watched the city evolve over four decades, and Josh & John’s has grown alongside it.
“Today, I am a big fan of Colorado Springs,” Krakauer says. “It’s changed a lot, and I’m proud of the fact that I think I have a lot to do with the change that’s occurred.”
Some of his favorite memories are deeply personal.
Krakauer married his wife, Lindsay, underneath the giant ice cream cone at one of the stores—among customers and business-as-usual.
“At the time, I refused to close the store,” he says, laughing. “We have a picture of our wedding party, and there are people in there that we don’t know because there were just random customers that had come in for the day.”
That same joy and spontaneity even shows up in the shop’s flavors—Krakauer says he creates the names before developing the actual ice cream.
“We even have a CC Tiger Stripe ice cream,” he says. “It’s very popular at the CC games.”
One flavor remains especially meaningful: Malted Mazel Tov. “It was the flavor that I made for Lindsay and I when we got married,” Krakauer says. “It was so popular that it’s still out today as a regular flavor.”
Josh & John’s enjoys close ties to generations of CC students and alumni. Krakauer recalls one of the company’s earliest employees: Hollywood voice actor Dee Bradley Baker ’86, CC’s 2026 Commencement speaker and the voice of Perry the Platypus in Phineas and Ferb, among other favorites.
John’s Favorite Flavors
- Malted Mazel Tov
- Mocha Java Jolt
- Almond Joy
By the Numbers
- 40 years
- 7 stores
- 4 mobile units
- 1 Churn Barn
- Thousands of employees served
“We knew each other at CC because we were both singers” who performed together as undergrads, Krakauer says. “He was the baritone and I was the tenor.”
Another College connection: Josh & John’s original logo was designed by Amy Davis, a CC student at the time.
Krakauer says the real accomplishment lies in the people who helped shape the company—employees, CC students, customers, and the Springs community.
“We are very big on community,” he says. “We are very proud of the thousands of youth that we have taught and employed.”
After four decades downtown, Krakauer sees that mission enduring.
“It’s been a pleasure,” he says, “and it’s been an honor to serve Colorado Springs.”
