Born and raised in Kentucky, Kim Rhodes, co-owner of Blue Scoop Creamery, grew up with a love for dessert, especially the Southern-style ice cream characterized by mix-ins aplenty and exceeding creaminess. But when she and her family moved to Placentia in 2009, she found nearby ice cream options lacking.
“When we moved here, Baskin-Robbins was the show in town. And then there was a Pinkberry and a Golden Spoon. I couldn’t find the kind of ice cream I grew up eating.”
Spurred by her love of ice cream, as well as a mid-life escape from the corporate grind, Kim and her husband, Chris, opened Blue Scoop Creamery, named in tribute to the Bluegrass State, in Yorba Linda in 2020. “I went to college, got my master’s degree in business, and then worked in corporate marketing for over 20 years,” she said. “I joke that ice cream might be my midlife crisis, but I was working really, really hard for someone else — and I wanted to work really hard for myself.”
After their first store proved a success despite opening in the midst of a roaring pandemic — and due in large part to the couple’s focus on making quality, housemade ice creams and desserts with a Southern bent (think banana pudding) — the Rhodes officially opened their second location in Brea on Wednesday, Jan 24.
Nearly everything at Blue Scoop Creamery, from the ice cream and cakes to the cookies and sauces, are made from scratch in-house. Menu highlights at Blue Scoop Creamery include such dairy-laced divinity as Twin Mint, PB Situation (peanut butter ice cream with chocolate and peanut butter-covered feuilletine flakes), Peppermint Stick, Movie Munchies (packed with sundry snacks you’d find at your nearest cinema), Grape Nuts, Candy Cane Cookie Cheesecake and Almond Chip (vegan).
Of course, such stalwart flavors as vanilla, strawberry, mint chip and chocolate are featured (given the high-quality of ingredients used at Blue Scoop Creamery, returning to the classics is worth it), but other flavors like Nana’s banana pudding, blueberry cheesecake, salted caramel, lemon sorbet and cookie butter are worth a second and third return visit.
“A lot of our stuff is inspired by my background like our bourbon ball ice cream. I grew up in Kentucky and every holiday there was a plate of bourbon ball candy,” she said. ‘”We also do specialty sundaes every now and then like banana pudding or Kentucky butter cake. We really lean into that Southern flair.”
Most notable is the Honey Almond Brittle ice cream that uses honey sourced from a Yorba Linda beekeeper. Since landing on the menu, the flavor has amassed a loyal following. Keeping the locally-sourced theme going, the milk and cream used for their ice creams are sourced from cows in the San Jacinto Valley, which aren’t treated with bovine growth hormones like rBST.
As for vegan flavors, Blue Scoop Creamery always has Cookie Butter on its menu, with three other flavors that rotate every two to four weeks.
“We’ve gotten great feedback on our dairy-free ice cream at our Yorba Linda location, which has become a nice destination for people who can’t or choose not to eat dairy,” she said.
In addition to churning out choice ice cream, the Rhodeses want Blue Scoop Creamery to be more than just a brick-and-mortar space where customers robotically get in, grab grub and go like so many big-chain eateries as of late. Kim hopes the Brea location, like the Yorba Linda one, becomes a viable third space — i.e., a social area that is separate from home and work.
“For us, we’re really into making really great ice cream but just as important to us is bringing community together. One thing that kind of distinguishes us from our competition is that we have a welcoming dining room. And there’s actually space for people to come in and hang out — a third space, if you will,” she explained.
Kim Rhoes goes on to note that maintaining a family-friendly atmosphere is also a priority for her Brea shop. “We just had really good success integrating with the community. And Brea is also very community driven. [Chris and I] live in between the two cities because it’s important for us to be able to see, touch, feel and be really involved with our two shops.”
Find it: 391 S State College Blvd Suite O, Brea
