Jeannette Stevens and her sister, Erika Briggs, have been scooping up treats sweet and savory in Sidney.
The pair, together with Mike Butler and the Butler family of Butler Auto Sales, launched Scoops Ice Cream & Subs at 168 Delaware Ave. The sisters also operate Club 55 restaurant in Sidney.
Stevens said that although opening day was July 1, the concept was months in the making.
She said that back in December, Butler visited Club 55 for lunch pitched the idea to her of opening a casual spot serving sandwiches and ice cream.
“He was so excited he couldn’t even sit down,” Stevens said. “The whole thing kept snowballing from there.”
Today, Scoops features subs made with Boar’s Head products and soft and hard Perry’s ice cream.
Kyle Westcott, the former owner of the Great American food store in Sidney, sold Stevens and Briggs the store’s secret recipe for hometown macaroni and potato salads. They also brought over Club 55 coleslaw.
Stevens, a longtime Sidney resident, said the response from customers has been hearty.
“The community has been so amazing and so supportive,” she said. “It just warms your heart. They’re all so happy to see us over there. Some of them giggle, because we already have so much on our plates — all of us, the Butlers and us — and they’re like, ‘You’re opening another place?’ but they’re very happy and supportive.”
Scoops has drawn curious customers locally from nearby employers like Price Chopper and Amphenol as well as beyond Sidney.
“We have people driving over from Deposit to come and get a sub and an ice cream to eat on the way back home,” Stevens said. “It’s everybody, it’s the local factories supporting us, and all the local businesses … and people who know the Butlers and know us from coming into Club 55 … (Customers) travel over to check us out and wish us well and try out our subs and salads. I love when the customers peek their heads through the ice-cream window. They just want to be seen and say hi, and I think that’s so sweet.”
Stevens, who said she splits her time between the two eateries, said owning and operating Scoops has proven a welcome challenge.
“We have a good crew in both places,” she said, “and we’re all learning together. I’ve eaten a lot of subs, but I had never made a sub in my life, so we’re all learning together, how to twirl ice cream on a cone or make sundaes.”
Ten years ago, the sisters were running the Sidney golf course. Briggs said to Stevens she wanted them to get their own place
“I said I would love to just have a soup and sandwich shop,” Stevens said. “She thought that was silly, so when Mike Butler came up to me with this whole idea, I said, ‘I’m finally getting my sandwich shop.’ and it’s just completely different from the restaurant. You’ve got two items, two things to choose from, and a good crew that makes it fun and our customers make it fun.”
Stevens said Scoops will operate seasonally, likely closing “later in the year than most ice-cream stands, because of the subs and salads,” and reopening in March or April.
As Scoops becomes established, Stevens said, she hopes to expand offerings.
“We all have ideas that, after we get through this year of learning, we want to start incorporating next year,” she said. “Jesse Wakeman from Wakeman Coffee would like us to include his coffees, iced and hot, and we have had a couple customers that suggested getting some boozy ice cream, so we hope to keep expanding and growing, but stay in our little building. We want to get acclimated and get going this year, then start adding things next year.”
For more information, find “Scoops Ice Cream & Subs” on Facebook or call 607-604-4300.