Here’s the scoop!
Although they’ve only been in business less than a month, the folks at Sanibel Scoop – the island’s first combination handmade ice cream, candy confections and freshly-ground coffee shop – have high hopes that their unique facility will soon be drawing a steady following of customers frequenting their colorful and casual eatery.
Located at 2411 Periwinkle Way (site of the original Cheeburger Cheeburger franchise), the new restaurant officially opened on April 24. They currently offer 11 different flavors of handmade ice cream, which can be mixed together in any flavor combination on their cold slab surface, topped with a wide variety of popular toppings or paired with a beverage.
Choices on their beverage menu is even wider than their frozen treat selections, with an assortment of made-to-order coffee drinks – regular or decaf, mochas, frappucinos and more – as well as bottled sodas, teas, juices and water.
“We’re still working on doing some more decorating,” store manager Brittany Clark said last week while offering a tour of the building, which includes a large indoor seating area for folks to enjoy their sweet goodies. “We’re going for ‘just a flair of color’ with it, but we also want this to be a fun place.”
Clark noted that she not only wants their customers to enjoy Sanibel Scoop, but for their employees to like working there, too.
“I’ve told my employees to wear different hats or decorate their aprons with pins and buttons – they should be fun and funky,” she added.
Color is everywhere you look, from the vibrantly painted hallway walls where customers can purchase dozens of different candy items, from classic treats including Mary Janes and Tootsie Rolls to more modern fare like Pop Rocks, Gummi Worms, Sour Patch Kids and Dove Bars.
The floors have an antique quality to them, contrasting the neon signs and coin-operated games found in the dining area. However, it is quite reminiscent of and old fashioned ice cream parlor from days gone by, the kind of place where you’ll likely find families gathering together on a summer evening or a Little League team celebrating a big victory.
“My favorite thing is making the ice cream. That’s a lot of fun,” said Clark. “It’s even better when a customer tells you how good the ice cream is, and that’s because we make it fresh. It doesn’t sit in our freezers very long because we’ve already got a lot of people coming in.”
Despite the fact they’ve just opened, business owner Bill Berke and his staff – which also includes Molly Croce, Emily Kasten, Sam Kortegast and Jen Shipp, along with Clark – already have plans to expand their menu in the near future. They plan on adding 11 more ice cream flavors, bringing their total to 22, as well as offering ice cream cakes, cupcakes, homemade pralines, fudge, trail mixes and chocolate-covered candies. For canine lovers, they’ll soon have their own variety of for-dogs-only ice cream.
Another addition on the way is a Kids Wall Of Fame. Along the main hallway, they plan to add pictures of messy kids enjoying their ice cream. Only one photograph is currently in place, but they hope in a few short months the walls will be filled with pictures of smiling, happy youngsters who aren’t afraid to express themselves with a bowlful of ice cream, a spoon and a little bit of whimsical imagination.
“Being in this business is great,” said Clark. “People are already in a good mood because they know when they’re coming in, they’re going to have some ice cream. And then when they get their ice cream, they’re doubly happy because it’s so good.”
Sanibel Scoop, open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week, offers customer parking three driveways north of their building (at 2411 Periwinkle Way). Their phone number is 472-YUMM.