Meet Moni Burgin & Rachel Horesovsky | Co Owners

We had the good fortune of connecting with Moni Burgin & Rachel Horesovsky and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Moni Burgin &, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I think we both just got tired of having other jobs. We spent some time working together at a dessert shop in Washington, D.C. while we were in college, and had always talked about how amazing it would be to start our own, so we decided to go for it. We both also had experience working on food trucks and were somewhat familiar with the paperwork involved. So, we ran a Kickstarter campaign to see if we’d get enough support. We did, and here we are!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Our business is focused on house-made creative vegan desserts, usually featuring milkshakes, although during the pandemic we have shifted primarily to gourmet caramels and a few other confections. We offer a variety of flavors that includes familiar favorites such as the classic mint and Oreo milkshake, as well as flavors that may test people’s comfort zones. For example, one of our favorite special shakes to make is a blend of our vanilla ice cream with strawberry-jalapeño compote and toasted cornflakes. One of the most fun challenges is reinventing sweets that normally include dairy or eggs, such as white chocolate, caramel, and meringue. We strive to create the delicious, adventurous desserts we want to see in the world!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I always take my visitors to Bouldin Creek Cafe, and if the weather is nice, I like to go for a walk around the Bouldin neighborhood as well. Their vegan BLAT sandwich is to die for, and they have breakfast tacos, which are one of the signature foods of Austin. If it’s close to evening you can swing down to the river for a boat tour featuring the bats under the Congress bridge as well! North Loop is my other favorite neighborhood for visitors. It has a bunch of vintage stores, including my two favorites, Room Service Vintage & Blue Velvet. It also has one of my favorite coffee shops, Epoch, and an all-vegan food trailer park called Possum Park. Every single business at Possum Park is fantastic, though my absolute favorite is the brunch menu at Bistro Vonish. And North Loop is another fantastic neighborhood for walking — lots of beautiful gardens and overgrown alleys to explore.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Diane Garcia! Diane was our manager when we worked at Via 313, a local pizza shop. We started working for her while we were already several months into opening Milky Way, but the support and encouragement she gave us from day one really helped us open in a good way. She has also been the best example of a manager we’ve ever had, which has inspired us to do the best we can for our own employees. She used to bring us snacks and coffee during the SXSW rushes, and she’d put together gift bags for everyone’s birthday. Even now, she’s always suggesting ways for us to expand our offerings or sharing new contacts that will help our business.

Website: http://www.milkywayshakes.com
Instagram: instagram.com/milkywayshakes
Facebook: facebook.com/milkywayshakes
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/milky-way-shakes-austin

Image Credits
Moni Burgin & Rachel Horesovsky