AVON — Frozen yogurt is sweet, but Stephanie and Trevor Bernhardt would argue, falling in love is sweeter.
“He took out the trash. He would take my shifts. Give me his free cup of fro-yo," Stephanie Bernhardt said.
The high school sweethearts started working at Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt in Avon at 16 years old.
It was their first jobs.
Stephanie says Trevor’s acts of service, charming personality and ability to lift her up when she was down, gave her the butterflies.
“That was the first push to be like ‘maybe I should give this guy a chance,'" Stephanie Bernhardt said.
The two each took separate paths after high school graduation.
Trevor went into the car business and Stephanie studied Event Management at IUPUI.
Still, over the years, Orange Leaf was a constant.
“We actually bought the business while I was still a senior. I was going to class and owning a business," Stephanie Bernhardt said.
2019 was a busy year for the Bernhardts.
In March, they bought the business.
In May, Stephanie graduated college.
And in June, they said ‘I do.’
“It felt like a good place for us to be," Trevor Bernhardt said.
Today, the 27-year-olds have expanded their network across Central Indiana.
The couple owns another Orange Leaf location in Plainfield, a concession company called Bernhardt Concession Services and an axe-throwing spot called LumberjAXE.
“It’s great and challenging all at the same time," Trevor Bernhardt said. “We get to spend every day together. We get to enjoy life and the fun things together. But, it’s hard sometimes to separate the personal and business conversations."
The Bernhardts say you can make it work if you put in the effort.
“It’s having those hard conversations. It’s communication. We have had to communicate about things that most couples probably will never," Stephanie said.
The couple complements each other.
Stephanie says Trevor’s strengths lie on the financial side of the business. He’s the negotiator. Profit guru. The man with the action plan.
Trevor says Stephanie excels in the creative department. Marketing and advertising. A social media savant. The woman with the community connections.
And for them, every day is filled with nostalgia.
“It almost feels like you’re still a kid back in high school sometimes. Which is sometimes what we lust after," Trevor Bernahrdt said.
