In the parking lot of the Golden Scoop’s shop at 103rd Street and U.S. Highway 69, a bright red truck sits waiting for its next chapter.

Soon, it will be newly wrapped and bearing the Golden Scoop’s name. It’s a bittersweet beginning, as by that time, the ice creamery and coffee shop will also be down one brick-and-mortar storefront.

The truck is part of a larger shift for the Golden Scoop, which has employed adults with developmental disabilities for the past five years in Overland Park.

At the end of the month, the nonprofit and ice cream shop will say goodbye to the four walls of its flagship location off 95th Street and Nall Avenue, trading it for a new on-the-go venture.

The Golden Scoop opened first at 9540 Nall Ave.

The shop first debuted five years ago at the Nall Hills shopping center, followed by a second location at 10460 W. 103rd St. two years ago.

Throughout the years, CEO Amber Schreiber said the Golden Scoop has noticed a few trends. For one, catering and wholesale operations went up year after year, while dine-in customers in general became more scarce across the food and drink industry altogether.

The other side of it, Schreiber said, is that “Super Scoopers” (the shop’s name for its employees) just want to be out in the world, meeting new people.

“We wanted to meet people where they were at,” she said. “And also to get our super scoopers out into the community, telling their stories, mingling with the people at the events and working on social skills.”

The brick-and-mortar shop’s last day is Halloween

Employees who worked at the flagship location will transfer over to the 103rd Street shop, keeping their same shifts.

The new truck also has a wheelchair lift and a lowered serving window, which both aim to make it easier for people with mobility disabilities to be both Super Scoopers and customers.

“Anytime we make a decision, the Super Scoopers are at the forefront,” Schreiber said. “We definitely wanted to make sure that when making this decision, our Super Scoopers were not going to lose their jobs.”

Instead, she hopes, the shift could actually create opportunities for current Super Scoopers to take on more hours — and for The Golden Scoop to hire more of them, if demand for the truck grows.

The new truck will show up at events across the metro

The new mobile operation will serve both ice cream and coffee at a variety of events. Customers might expect to see the truck at nearby festivals, office parks, schools and sporting events.

“We want to be all over town,” Schreiber said.

It will operate year-round, so long as the weather permits it. The truck can be booked here.

The Golden Scoop is also planning a ribbon-cutting event this fall, with supporters who helped fund the truck (such as the Sherman Family Foundation and the Junior League of Kansas City).

It’s bittersweet, Schreiber said, saying goodbye to where the company got its start. But as the shop’s final day approaches, longtime customers are showing up with a smile for their final visits and sharing their favorite memories there.

“I think that people understand,” she said. “It was never just about being within the four walls. It’s been about expansion and exposure and getting the word out about how talented and valued uniquely-abled people are in the workforce.”

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