Ice cream lovers rejoice. Soon there will be a new player in town—and this ice cream shop/coffee shop boasts a charitable component alongside its frozen dairy deliciousness. Introducing The Golden Scoop, whose mission is to provide meaningful employment for people with developmental disabilities. Set to open in January in Prairie Village, its amazing made-from-scratch products are guaranteed to provide an inclusive, joyful customer experience that keeps people coming back.
The founders—the aptly named Golden Girls—Amber Schreiber, Lindsay Krumbholz and Michelle Reeves, are excited about their new philanthropic venture that’s been percolating since 2019. We caught up with Reeves for the, um, scoop:
Since you unveiled your website, what has response been?
“Community support has been incredible! We attribute it to a few things: This is going to be a happy place to frequent and the community is so ready for something happy. Also, our Super Scoopers (our employees) are so incredibly talented but often overlooked. It will be very nice for the community to see what they bring to the table. This is a group of individuals who are facing staggering unemployment rates, up to 80 percent during a normal time. These rates have only been increased during this pandemic.”
Why ice cream? (I mean, why not ice cream—but why ice cream?)
“We actually based our business model after two successful businesses in other regions of the country. Our goal is to involve our Super Scoopers in every step of what we do. A young man with autism provided the handwriting for our logo. Every month a Super Scooper will be a Super Scooper of the Month. They get to collaborate with me to create a flavor of ice cream they love, they get to market it all month long, they will promote it in the store and see it named after them. Honestly, it is a great way for us to gauge the market with our flavors. If that flavor is popular, it will be added to the menu permanently named after them!”
Super Scoopers! I love that.
“We really want our guests to know that our Super Scoopers are some of the most wonderfully talented individuals that they will meet. Don’t overlook them for employment and embrace what they bring to the table. You won’t leave our shop without having a great experience—that we promise!”
What’s it like opening a business in the middle of a global pandemic?
“Well, in a nutshell, pretty tough. It took us three months longer than the norm to receive our 501c3 status. Sadly, that set us back in our fundraising efforts and also our projected opening date that’s now set for January 2021.”
How can customers/guests help?
“First off, come visit us when we open! We would love for the community to share our story, follow us on social media, come meet our Super Scoopers. If they are feeling extra generous, donate to our cause. We aim to pay above minimum wage from day one. We rely heavily on donations and grants, especially during our build-out phase and first few months of opening.”
And, finally, ‘fess up—what do you predict will be your most popular flavor at The Golden Scoop?
“Okay, I will give you a little sneak peek! We have based one of our signature flavors on a very popular cereal. We even make a homemade version of said cereal to use in our ice cream. It passed all the research and development with such flying colors that we are actually going to be selling the cereal itself!”