Tracy Griffen, the owner of gelato shop Orange Moon Delights in bustling Washington Plaza, got the namesake of his business from the title of his favorite song by singer-songwriter Erykah Badu. He also derived it from his own admiration of the moon.
“I consider the moon a quiet power,” said Griffen, contrasting it with the sun, which he calls a “loud power.”
“We feel it, we see what it does, we feel the heat that’s generated from it. You know you recognize the sun because it’s saying ‘Hey!’ It’s so loud, you can’t even look at it,” he added.
When Griffen explains this contrast further, a subtle viewpoint on a creative approach and attitude toward being an entrepreneur starts to emerge.
“The moon is quiet, and you don’t really pay attention,” he said. “But then we look at it, and start thinking about it. You recognize the power in what it’s doing: illuminating the night. It has a gravitational pull that is keeping the tides. It’s doing a lot of things, you know, same sorts of different power. And then when you see an orange moon, then that’s just unique, and it’s beautiful.”
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That deep-rooted mindset has carried Griffen through thick and thin throughout the year, since he opened Orange Moon Delights in September of 2021. The dessert shop offers frozen yogurt and specialty shakes and smoothies called “Moyo” (as in “more than yogurt”).
But the shop’s specialty is gelato.
Griffen was inspired to open a frozen yogurt parlor after discovering his own preference for the treat over traditional ice cream and its potential varieties. Amid the earliest stages of developing the business idea, he encountered gelato shops during a visit to his wife’s native Gabon, Africa, rousing a taste for the artisanal treat before he knew what it was.
He rediscovered gelato researching premium desserts. The plan by that point was to have a spot with later hours on the weekends, and to set the business apart.
“We wanted to have something distinct,” Griffen said. “Something that distinguished us from everybody else.”
Google and word of mouth, says Griffen, have served the enterprise well, with regulars coming in to partake of any one—and often more than one, in blends—of the host of varieties available.
Popular flavors include peanut butter and strawberry sorbet, torta al limone (a lemon cake flavor), coffee chocolate chip, an original called OMD Tropical Sunset, and the Blue Cookie Monster, which Griffen compares to the current election situation.
“There’s a run-off between who likes it more, the children or the adults,” he said.
Griffen has an overall vision to expand the business throughout the CSRA and further, adding menu items, opening new locations. Plans include hosting more events, such as “Paint and Gelato,” a variation on the “paint and sip” trend, which the shop hosted in February; and musical guests, such as when jazz musician Fred Williams performed there for New Year’s Eve.
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But for now, as part of the Orange Moon’s journey, Griffen is content with cultivating the current business and becoming part of the community.
He understands the enterprise as not only place to get sweet treats, but also as a burgeoning network hub, for people to meet, connect and gather.
“It’s not only desserts. It’s camaraderie, it’s family,” said Griffen. “We want to have that.”
Orange Moon can be traced back to Griffen seeking to share a tasty dessert that he discovered; he now understands it as a growing blessing he also wants to share.
“I think that we we will always offer something good,” he said. “And will always be better than where we were.”
Orange Moon Delights is located at 2907 Washington Rd., Ste. 404. For more information, visit its website at https://www.orangemoondelights.com/.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
