For The Golden Scoop, a new shop means more than just a new set of customers.
Following various setbacks, the popular ice creamery and coffee shop has finally entered its “soft opening” phase with a grand opening planned for next week.
The new shop at 10460 W. 103rd St. comes with lots of new features, including a drive-thru, which co-founder Amber Schreiber said the shop’s “super scoopers” are thrilled to get to try out.
The ice cream and coffee shop employs adults who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. Its original shop — which will continue to serve customers — opened its doors in 2021.
The drive-thru is a first for Golden Scoop employees, but they’ll be armed with some extra training thanks to a local Chick-fil-A franchise. Local franchise owner Dustin Andrews and his team have stepped in to share their expertise with super scoopers.
The Golden Scoop’s grand opening is Sept. 5
This week, the new shop entered its “soft opening” phase with limited hours. It will operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through Saturday.
The Golden Scoop’s second location will have the same hours on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, followed by the grand opening on Thursday.
From then forward, the shop’s hours will be 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. The drive-thru will stay closed during what Schreiber calls the shop’s “honeymoon phase” in the first few weeks.
The new shop is roughly 2,000 square feet larger than the flagship location at 9540 Nall Ave. That means there’s more room for dine-in customers and new features like a sensory room in the back for super scoopers to take breaks if needed.
With the new location came the hiring of 20 new super scoopers and more opportunities for existing employees to get more hours if they wanted them.
“When talking to (employees) and planning for this expansion, many of them expressed how they wanted to work here exclusively and not have a second or third job,” Schreiber said.
Chick-fil-A helped provide drive-thru tips
Andrews met The Golden Scoop founders Amber Schreiber and Lindsay Krumbholz after opening his franchise at 11240 Nall Ave. in 2022.
At the time, Andrews remembers immediately having a lot of respect for the mission behind their business.
Since then, the two businesses have stayed in touch, and Andrews hoped there might be opportunities for them to partner on things in the future.
“They have such an amazing team there, and obviously it starts with (Schreiber and Krumbholz) and their vision and mission,” he said. “They truly care for their team, and that obviously then trickles down to caring for their customers and their communities.”
So when he found out that they were hoping to expand with another location, and that their new space had a drive-thru, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to lend a hand.
Andrews visited The Golden Scoop a couple of times this summer, giving suggestions on how to maximize drive-thru efficiency inside the shop and safety tips for navigating car lines outside.
He intends to send more employees from his restaurant’s leadership team to give Golden Scoop shift leaders more insight into supporting the shop’s employees at the drive-thru. It’s a partnership that Andrews said could continue even beyond the new shop’s opening.
“Both of our organizations are really passionate about caring for our community,” he said. “I think from that standpoint, to be able to lock arms with The Golden Scoop and just continue to multiply that in the best way that we can, it’s been really exciting. We’ve developed a really good friendship now, and I think that’s something that is going to last a lot longer than the grand opening of their next (location).”
Owners say “super scoopers” are excited to try something new
When looking for a new space for their second location, Schreiber said the idea of having a drive-thru had been on her mind.
Though it would be a new learning curve, she said, it could also bring in extra revenue, especially from on-the-go customers grabbing their morning coffee.
“Not a lot of people knew that we sold coffee,” she said. “Hopefully, now that we have the sign that says ‘coffee and creamery’ as well as having the drive-thru, we can really drive some additional sales into the organization.”
The convenience of a drive-thru is certainly a bonus for customers, but Schreiber said the social aspect of that new feature makes a big difference for employees too.
“The social component of their job and development is a very key piece to what we do,” she said. “This is a way for them to feel valued, to feel like they’re accepted and that they belong. They just light up when they can interact with another person.”
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