When real estate appraiser Greg Berry realized that the real estate market was getting to the point where he could no longer support his family, he set about appraising what other business opportunities might exist around his neighborhood in Lee's Summit.
He saw a need for ice cream.
"We looked into opening an ice cream store without going the franchise route and that's when we started to learn that we could make our own ice cream in the shop," says Berry.
Berry and wife Amy signed up for a week-long intensive ice cream-making class at the Frozen Dessert Institute in St. Louis. In the mornings they learned about the equipment and economics of running an ice cream shop, and in the afternoons they made flavors from scratch.
They opened their shop, Here's Your Scoop (3743 SW Hollywood Drive in Lee's Summit) on April 21 of this year. And after a strong start, they thought the ice creams they were producing could compete on a national level. So they shipped out samples for the competitions organized by the National Ice Cream Retailers Association's 76th Annual Convention.
"I make my ice cream with a real low air -- 30 to 40 percent, which means it's heavier and creamier. The yield isn't as good, after all air is free, but the ice cream is thicker and denser," says Berry.
Berry's instincts were right, as he discovered over the weekend of November 4 in
Scottsdale, Arizona. Here's Your
Scoop's strawberry was awarded a Blue Ribbon after scoring a possible
34 out of 35 points based on an analysis of the texture, melt speed
and amount of ice crystals. The association judges vanilla and
strawberry in the same fashion as a state fair, awarding ribbons based
on analysis from food scientists.
The store's oatmeal cookie
ice cream was awarded fourth place out of 40 entries in the Best New
Flavor category. The ice cream has a cookie dough
base with maple brown sugar, crushed-up oatmeal cookies and a caramel
ribbon.
"My favorite compliment was the owner of Anderson's
Frozen Custard [a burger and custard chain in upstate New York], who told me, Greg, I've been doing this for 60 years,
and here you are doing it for six months and you've already got a blue
ribbon," says Berry.
Back in the shop, Berry
continues to experiment with new flavors, although the store is
becoming known for cake-inspired ice cream.
"It wasn't intentional. I wanted a red velvet cake ice cream and that's how it got started," he says.
The
most popular is the chocolate cream cake -- chocolate ice cream with
chocolate cake mix and a shot of Bailey's Irish Crème. There's also a
pineapple upside down cake, birthday cake ice cream and Italian
wedding cake (coconut, pineapple, cream cheese, pecans, and a shot of
Amaretto).
Berry is looking to grow the store's cake business
-- they bake on site -- and hopes to move Here's Your Scoop's
ice cream onto restaurant dessert menus. The shop's Oreo Coffee flavor
could be the one to make that happen.
Here's Your Scoop is
open on Sundays (1 to 9 p.m.), Tuesdays to Thursdays
(2-9 p.m.), and Fridays and Saturdays (1 to 11 p.m.). It's having
a Black Friday cone sale on Friday, November 27, charging just 99 cents for a
three-ounce cone between 12 and 6 p.m.
Showing 1-4 of 4
As owner of Docs Sorbet & Ice Cream Co; I'm glad I quit and closed the shop, you've got the market scooped. LOL but true. Your friend Doc
Congrats Greg!
As a former consulting client of mine, I'd like to take credit for your great success...but we all know that's a stretch...LOL!
It's obvious that you have a great talent for making ice cream and for making your customers happy. Keep up the great work!
Neil
Neil Williams
President
TurnKeyParlor.com
877-817-5716
Dear Greg,
Congratulations for you successful business. In Brazil you would get rich in a few hours, because it is VERY hot here and wi love ice cream.
I will be writing again to congratulate your mom for her birthday. By the way, there are stores here that sell ice cream cakes for birthdays parties.
God bless you all,
Carlos
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