The Local Scoop
Handmade ice cream shop delights
customers with local ingredients
By Amy Rogers | Photos by Ray Sepesy
Strolling through downtown Matthews with their little boy a few years back, Ralph and Janel Parkman used to play a game. They envisioned businesses they could start and called the game, “What Would Work Well Here?”
At the time, their jobs demanded too much travel, and they wanted to focus on staying closer to home. Ralph thought back to the happy times growing up in New York, and he remembered making ice cream with his father. That gave him a cool idea: open a locally owned ice cream shop and create flavor combinations using fresh, regional ingredients.
So, that’s what they did. The Local Scoop has given the couple the perfect opportunity to “dig into the community,” Ralph says with a chuckle from their storefront location in Promenade on Providence. It’s the only store in the shopping center with a bench out front in the shape of a life-sized, black-and-white cow.
Ralph studied video tutorials on YouTube, joined the National Ice Cream Retailers Association to network with other mom-and-pop proprietors, and even went to gelato school. Equipped with the skill to chill, The Local Scoop opened in August 2017. Ralph handles the daily operations. Janel manages social media, payroll and bookkeeping, tasks her husband says make her “the brains of the operation.”
The handmade flavors rotate with more than 20 available at any one time. “There are about 100 flavors in my wheelhouse,” Ralph says. He creates and crafts each one in a multi-step process that requires mixing and freezing at different temperatures in 24-hour cycles. The science aside, each batch is truly handmade, with a little help from modern machinery.
This season, moving away from summer’s lighter flavors, Ralph is adding more intensity to the shop’s recipes. Nutella Truffle ice cream elevates the classic chocolate and hazelnut spread into a frozen treat with doubly deep, nutty notes. The Strawberry Oreo is a crunchy, cookie mix with a pleasant pink color and no artificial colors or flavorings.
In each bite of the Caramel Apple Pie flavor, there are bits of pie, crust, fruit and spices, all encased in sweet, frozen cream. “We throw entire apple pies in there,” says Ralph. There’s also a Cheerwine ice cream float that gives a nod to the iconic North Carolina beverage.
For people who need to avoid allergens, the shop offers dairy-free and gluten-free versions of popular flavors along with sorbets and fruit-based blends. Not surprisingly, many customers volunteer to be tasters.
Recently, the impact of COVID-19 has forced businesses to retool their operations. The Local Scoop adapted by moving to a system of online ordering and curbside service. The staff wears masks with ice cream cones printed on the fabric. “It’s whatever we can do to bring a little normalcy,” Ralph says. “We have fun with it but take it seriously.”
Despite the uncertainty of the times, The Local Scoop recently expanded. Ralph and Janel now have a pop-up trailer on the big grassy lawn on Matthews Station Street, almost exactly where they first came up with their business idea. People can stroll by, walk right up and order their favorite flavors. It’s simple, easy and fun. As Ralph says, “That’s what ice cream is all about.”
The Local Scoop
5355 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy
Charlotte, 28277
704-443-7812
