Review: I Tried The Scoop, Lafayette’s New Ice Cream Parlor With a Unique Business Model

LAFAYETTE, CALIFORNIA – When I heard from a Bay Area Telegraph reader that a brand-new ice cream shop had quietly opened right in downtown Lafayette, California, I knew I had to stop by and try it out—like, the same day!

In fact, that’s exactly what I did. The Scoop is a new ice cream joint located at 63 Lafayette Circle. That’s the former location of the upscale juice bar Urban Remedy, right in Fiesta Square, next to Papillon Coffee and across from Sliver Pizza.

The Scoop originally started as a series of pop-ups. The store then raised over $100,000 from its community in order to open a brick-and-mortar location here in the 925.

I stopped in to check it out with my three kids and grandparents in tow. Apparently, this fits with the mission of The Scoop, which emphasizes multigenerational ice cream outings.

The Scoop has a unique business model among Bay Area ice cream parlors. Rather than creating ice cream themselves, they act kind of like a rotating tap at a fancy taproom—but for ice cream instead of beer.

To that end, The Scoop features a rotating selection of ice creams from different creameries around the Bay Area. They appear to be highlighting several at a time, which means you can get ice creams in wildly different styles, all from a single place.

When you walk into The Scoop’s new location, you can immediately tell that they’re still getting set up. The inside is cheerfully painted and bright, but the wall art—which appears to feature family members—still consists only of printed photographs taped on the wall with blue painter’s tape. This is a brand new store!

That said, the owners clearly plan to stick around for a while. This isn’t a pop-up—they’re already selling merch with their logo on it.

The small storefront is centered around a freezer filled with containers of local ice cream. The Scoop is specifically focusing on hard-serve ice cream rather than soft serve or yogurt, which is a smart move given how popular the nearby Yogurt Shack is in Lafayette.

The Scoop bills itself as Lafayette’s only hard-serve creamery, which isn’t technically true, as Yogurt Shack serves Fentons’ hard-serve ice cream. Still, we’ll allow it.

The mix-and-match business model means that everybody in your party can try totally different styles of ice cream if they want to. One member of our group got the s’mores flavor—which is apparently one of the most popular ones and was almost sold out—and I tried a cashew-based cookie dough flavor.

The kids all got mango ice cream.

There’s something neat about being able to sample all different kinds of ice cream in one place. It opens up tons of variety and means you can try famous Bay Area creameries without driving into the city or down to the South Bay.

In that way, the Scoop is a bit like Lafayette’s Local Kitchens, which features restaurants from around the Bay Area in one location.

The challenge of the fact that The Scoop does not make its own ice cream, though, is that they appear to have less control over the availability of the flavors. Several ones that we wanted to try—like the mint chip—were already sold out, and the s’mores was on its last legs.

The decision to feature other people’s ice cream also means that there’s a lot more variability in ice cream styles—and perhaps in how fresh the ice cream is—than if The Scoop were making everything themselves.

Again, this can be a good thing if you choose a really fantastic flavor (s’mores was a hit). But it can also lead to a bit less consistency (the mango was okay, but not as good as the s’mores or the mango flavor at places like Gio Gelati).

I’d recommend doing a bit of research on the featured creamery before making your choice. You can get a sense of their unique styles. Helpfully, The Scoop lists the creamery for each flavor featured, so you know exactly where you’re getting it from.

Another nice element of visiting The Scoop is that they encourage sampling. We must have tried at least 7 to 8 flavors before settling on our choices. That seems essential given the business model, since it means you can actually taste flavors from multiple creameries before making a choice.

The Scoop heavily emphasizes sustainability, which we appreciated. All of the utensils are biodegradable, including wooden spoons and compostable containers.

The Scoop also appears to consciously feature lots of non-dairy ice cream alternatives. Multiple flavors were vegan, from my cashew milk cookie dough to several fruity sorbet flavors.

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Everyone at The Scoop was extremely friendly and happy to serve us, and there’s a nice bench outside the door where you can sit in Fiesta Square and enjoy your ice cream.

One piece of feedback I would give to The Scoop is that—especially given the focus on families—they should offer a kid’s size. The smallest and cheapest ice cream is seven dollars, which was more than our younger kids could eat. A four- or five-dollar kid’s scoop would make a big difference.

The Scoop does allow you to customize your ice cream with different toppings, which is a nice way to put their own stamp on the highly varied flavors you’ll get there.

I’d also love to see more information on the specific creamery they’re featuring. A chalkboard with some information written down about each creamery—or perhaps some photos of the creamery owners on the wall, or other information highlighting the philosophy, location, and backstory of each creamery—would be really cool.

Overall, it’s great to welcome a new ice cream parlor to Lafayette. I loved the overall vibe at The Scoop, and the friendliness and family emphasis of the store.

If I visit again, I’ll look up the flavors in advance, as it can be a bit overwhelming to choose not just a flavor, but also a creamery and ice cream style when you’re standing in line looking into the freezer. You can take a look at the options on offer each week on The Scoop’s Facebook page or on a big sign outside the store—I would definitely check that out before going in.

Walnut Creek has already undergone an ice cream renaissance, and I’m hoping that The Scoop kicks off a similar trend here in Lafayette! It’s nice to see local businesses opening, especially with such strong support from their fans. And it’s cool to see a new model for serving ice cream—specifically highlighting the work of small local creameries from around the region.

Want to check out The Scoop for yourself? Again, it’s located at 63 Lafayette Circle. Check out their Facebook or website for hours. I’m sure they’d love to help you find the perfect scoop!