It’s not easy juggling family life and a brand new business, but the Temple family blends it all together beautifully. After all, the family business is fruits and healthy ingredients blended to perfection as tropical smoothies!

Owning their own business has been a dream in the making for years for the Temples. Married for twenty years, Jerri and Elliot moved into White Columns-The Colonnade with their two daughters eleven years ago. 

“We have amazing neighbors who really look out for one another and help each other. We frequently watch each other’s pets or help with other things when a helping hand is needed. The larger White Columns community is amazing as well with everything it has to offer, including the club pool, playing tennis, or walking on gorgeous White Columns Drive. We love the atmosphere and that things are just a little more spread out and not right on top of one another,” says Jerri

While Jerri’s childhood spanned the world, Elliot grew up with southern roots. Elliot’s family is originally from Hartwell, Georgia but Elliot was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In the early 1980’s Elliot’s family moved to the Atlanta after his father became Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Emory University. Elliot graduated from Piedmont College and earned his masters from Georgia State University. Now Elliot serves as Vice President at Renasant Bank in their asset based lending division.

As a child, Jerri Hickman was used to moving from one place to the next as a Navy Brat. Jerri’s father served as a Captain and pilot in the US Navy. The family moved every two to three years all the way from Maine to Alaska and way down south to Alabama. Jerri earned her undergrad degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, then earned her masters in Speech Pathology from the University of Georgia. After graduating from the UGA, Jerri has proudly rocked the red and has lived in Georgia ever since!

Now the parents of two daughters, Addison and Emily, and two rescue pooches, Piper and Maggie, Jerri and Elliot are preparing to be empty nesters in just a couple of short years.

“Addison just graduated from Veritas Classical Schools and will be attending Mississippi State University in the fall majoring in business administration. Emily just finished her sophomore year at Cambridge high school and is a rising junior,” says Jerri.

Growing up in White Columns, the girls enjoyed childhoods filled with their favorite sports, some becoming life long passions.

Addison, 18, played competitive tennis on both junior tennis teams as well as her high school teams throughout the years. She even helped secure a state championship her junior year with The Kings Academy. After graduating from high school, Addison decided to hang up her tennis racket for the time being to focus on being a college student. In the fall, she will join the Mississippi State bulldog family. For the rest of  this summer, Addison will work as a head counselor at Camp High Harbor at Lake Burton. When she is home from Camp High Harbor, Addison will be helping out with the family business.

Emily, a rising junior at Cambridge, is starting her fourth year of competitive cheerleading after years as a competitive gymnast. Emily is super excited to have the opportunity to compete on the level six world’s team “Atomic” and a senior level five team “Blast” this year with Atlanta All Stars in Cumming. Emily cheered for Cambridge High School her freshman year and was part of the gymnastics team her sophomore year. This summer, Emily is helping as a caregiver for a young girl with special needs two days a week as well as helping out with the family business.

Both sisters along with Jerri are involved with National Charity League-Milton Chapter. National Charity League is a mother-daughter philanthropy organization. Both Addison and Emily have worked hard to achieve the Gold Presidential Service Award for their volunteer work.

And rounding out the Temple team are two precious fur babies, Piper and Maggie, both rescues. Piper was adopted through Releash Atlanta and Maggie was adopted through Angels Among Us.  

“We have always believed in giving rescue dogs a forever home.  Our first beloved dog, Zev, was adopted from Angels Among Us and we were hooked on pet rescue from that point on. We have volunteered with Angels Among Us and Ruff Dog Rescue through National Charity League and it is one of the girls’ favorite places to volunteer,” says Jerri. 

Piper is Jerri’s velcro dog, never wanting to leave her arms! She is a 13 pound mix of Poodle, Maltese and a few other breeds! Little sis, Maggie, is a 15 pound terrier mix. 

“Maggie is a goof ball and loves to snuggle under blankets, especially on a cold day. We get the best greetings when we get home after being gone. They bring a lot of joy to their lives,” says Jerri.

After a long career in speech pathology, Jerri for ready for a new challenge. Elliot and Jerri loved the idea of opening a restaurant and started searching for a franchise. Natural ingredients and a healthy lifestyle are important to the Hickmans, that’s why they picked Tropical Smoothie Cafe.

“After being a customer of Tropical Smoothie Cafe for years, we both could really get behind this brand from a healthier lifestyle perspective. We really liked that it is a better for you fast-casual option. The vast array of smoothies and a full menu of food items from breakfast to dinner also helped us decide that this was the brand we wanted to partner with,” says Jerri.

Located on Northpoint Drive near the mall, the Temple’s opened Tropical Smoothie Cafe in January. In addition to his full time job at Renasant Bank, Elliot runs the business side of their small corporation while Jerri is the primary hands on owner/operator on a day to day basis. 

Speech pathology still holds a special place in Jerri’s heart and she still works with select clients. Two adult clients with Down syndrome come to the café and are working on job skills as well as communication skills. Jerri would love to continue to grow this side of both businesses and ultimately employ adults with special needs in the future.

When the Temples have a rare, free night, they enjoy supporting the businesses in Crabapple and Alpharetta. One of their favs is La Parilla for the cheese dip. The Hickmans also love Chin Chin in Crabapple. Jerri, who suffers from Celiacs, says she is always able to enjoy a Chinese dish since the restaurant works hard to give her so many gluten-free options. 

When it comes to family vacations, the beach is always a favorite for the Temples.

“The girls have always been beach and water kids, so we usually head to the coast of Florida for our family vacations. We have always loved 30a and the surrounding areas, but the last two spring breaks we have gone to Indian Rocks Beach south of Clearwater.  They really enjoyed this area as it is not quite as busy, especially during a time like spring break. It is an old school beach town with great restaurants you can typically walk to,” says Jerri.

In the past couple of years, they have also enjoyed a cruise and all inclusive resorts in Mexico.

For the Temples, work hard, play hard is a true family motto. Mother nature did not cooperate the night before for our cover shoot, but the family was totally game to wake up before dawn and be dressed and ready at sunrise so oldest daughter Addison could take part in the shoot. Less than thirty minutes later, Addison was off to camp to serve as a counselor and Jerri had her ever present smile, ready to serve customers for the day at what they are now proud to call, the family business.