Rheumatologist's retirement plans: No screams, just ice scream smiles

A Delaware physician hangs up his stethoscope and grabs a scooper.

By Tyler Chin, AMNews staff. Nov. 14, 2005.

Making sidelines pay
Doctors who branched out beyond running their practice tell why they did it, how they did it, and what you should know before you do it. Contribute

Name: Russell Labowitz, MD

Specialty: Rheumatology

Location: Wilmington, Del.

Business: Uncle Russell's Ice Cream. The company sells freshly made ice cream and cookies. It also sells ice cream cakes, coffee drinks, pastries, rolls and biscotti.

Annual revenue: The figure is not available because he and his wife opened their shop on Aug. 12.

Why he started the business: Dr. Labowitz, who plans to retire in December, when he turns 65, invested $400,000 to open the store because he's loved ice cream since he was 12 years old and worked at a pharmacy delivering prescriptions and scooping ice cream. "It's something that I really held on to through the years," he said. "I love to see the kids coming in and seeing the smiles in their faces. It's hard to find someone who isn't happy eating ice cream, and I enjoy serving them."