Excerpted from article by Amy Rogers | Photo by Ray Sepesy

Posted on September 1, 2020

Equipped with the skill to chill, The Local Scoop opened in August 2017. Ralph Parkman handles the daily operations. His wife, 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. The Strawberry Oreo, pictured here, is a crunchy, cookie mix with a pleasant pink color and no artificial colors or flavorings.

Read more in our fall issue, coming soon!