If you’re looking for a really good excuse to satisfy an ice cream craving, then you should check out Dream Cream Ice Cream in downtown Pittsburgh. Located across from Three PNC and the Fairmont Hotel on bustling Liberty Avenue, this unique ice cream parlor is serving up a whole lot more than frozen treats to the throngs of office workers and culture seekers who frequent downtown every day.

Besides offering a slew of fantastic flavors, from the always-popular red velvet to the curious-sounding mint ting a ling, Dream Cream Ice Cream is working to fulfill the dreams of its workers, one scoop at a time. During the application process, prospective employees must identify a dream they’re working toward that just needs a little extra funding to come true. Once selected, the employee — or “dreamer” — chooses a flavor from which they receive a portion of the profits from each scoop sold. The faster each dreamer’s ice cream flavor moves, the closer they are to realizing their dream. Simple as that. (Whoever has pumpkin must be raking it in right now!)

Co-founders Thomas Jamison and his girlfriend Alecia Shipman came up with the idea for the business due to a mutual love of ice cream and helping people. But it wasn’t until they received a grant from Project Pop Up: Downtown, an initiative of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, that their own entrepreneurial dream became a reality. Project Pop Up is helping to infuse further vibrancy in downtown by providing budding entrepreneurs and artists with the opportunity to set up shop in abandoned storefronts. While it’s hard to tell now, the space that Dream Cream Ice Cream occupies was once a camera store.

We caught up recently with Thomas Jamison and Michael Jackson, a “dreamer” at Dream Cream Ice Cream and founder of ProMusica Pittsburgh, to find out about what it’s like to be an entrepreneur in Pittsburgh. Check out the video below to hear their stories. And head over towww.dreamcreamicecream.com for information on how to apply to be a “dreamer.” Applications are still being accepted.

 See video below provided by ImaginePittsburghNow.com