ST. LOUIS — Clementine’s Naughty and Nice Creamery owner Tamara Keefe has been named Missouri’s 2025 Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
In 2015, Keefe invested her life savings to start the boutique ice cream business. It has since grown to eight locations across the region and has become known for its creative and boozy flavors. Clementine’s also has a $25,000 square-foot production facility and ships nationwide.
Keefe said the recognition from SBA means so much because Clementine’s is about people, not just business.
“At Clementine’s, ice cream has always been more than a sweet treat. Ice cream is an equalizer—a small moment of joy we strive to make accessible to everyone,” Keefe said in a statement.
SBA St. Louis district director Maureen Brinkley said she is eager to add Keefe’s plaque to the St. Louis Wall of Fame where it will join St. Louis Bread Company, Build-A-Bear and World Wide Technology.
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“I am on the mountaintop of excitement to honor Tamara as the Missouri Small Business Person of the Year,” Brinkley said in a statement.
According to the SBA, Keefe employs over 200 workers and is dedicated to living wages and community investment and philanthropy. Keefe founded a business association in the Baden neighborhood and serves on the St. Louis Civic Foundation, plus she is a fellow with the Tory Burch and James Beard Foundations.
Last year, Sugarfire Smokehouse founder Charles “Charlie” Downs was named Missouri’s 2024 Small Business Person of the Year.
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