Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Winkelman.
Hi Katie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – To start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
My husband, Kyle, and I had been discussing opening an ice cream shop in Red Bud for a few years. I grew up in Florissant, MO, and when I moved to Red Bud, I missed having a local ice cream shop to go to. I am a huge foodie, especially ice cream! Our first date was at an ice cream shop in South St. Louis County! We were on vacation in the summer of 2019 and went to this ice cream shop that sold Bliss Artisan Ice Cream, and I immediately fell in love with the product. We were on vacation for 5 days and visited that ice cream shop 7 times! I was determined to try every flavor! When we got home, Sling N Scoops began to take shape.
In the fall of 2020, I got laid off from my full-time job due to COVID-19 and knew I did not want to go back to a 9 to 5 job answering phones, and our ice cream shop was my passion. So, in spring 2021, we took Sling N Scoops to a new level! We began offering catering weddings and events with a custom-built ice cream cart. We can cater any event, big or small. In 2022, we will have another ice cream cart built and be able to do two weddings in one day if the distance between the two makes sense.
Oh, and it does not stop there. In 2023, we launched our new ice cream bike, which is also used for catering weddings and events, but instead of scooping ice cream from it, we use it for our custom pre-scooped cups and homemade artisan popsicles! In spring 2023 we also launched a new sister company to Sling N Scoops, Fresh & Frosty. We offer artisan homemade, dairy-free, gluten-free popsicles with no preservatives and no color dyes in our products. They are made with natural sugars, real fruit, and fruit juices.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We opened on March 14, 2020, and had to close on March 21, 2020, due to COVID. We closed for 6 weeks, and during that time, we installed a temporary walk-up window. Without this option, we likely had to close. We used the walk-up window for most of the year. Since then, we have struggled with labor issues like many other businesses have. Regaining momentum from our opening day has been challenging, but we keep pushing forward and always thinking of new ideas!
I appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Sling N Scoops?
Sling N Scoops offers and serves hand-dipped artisan ice cream in many flavors, including lavender honey, maple bourbon bacon, and brownie batter chunk, to name a few. We offer cups, homemade, made-from-scratch waffle cones, floats, shakes, flight sampler, cold brew coffee floats and frappes, bougie bites (which is my sling twist on cakes pops instead of cake and icing wrapped in chocolate, its cake and ice cream wrapped in chocolate)! They are so yummy! We also offer a handful of toppings like hot fudge, hot caramel, M&M’s, Oreos, sprinkles, and more to add to your fave scoop! We also offer ice cream cakes for pre-order. We also offer sorbet in various flavors, which are dairy-free and gluten-free.
In 2023, we launched a new sister company to Sling N Scoops called Fresh & Frosty. We offer artisan homemade, dairy-free, gluten-free popsicles with no preservatives or color dyes in our products. They are made with natural sugars, real fruit, and fruit juices.
We have worked hard to give our customers an enjoyable atmosphere. We renovated and painted the shop to keep the building’s historic character; we re-purposed and installed the original ceiling tiles from the third story of the building, adding them to our new space. The countertops were re-purposed from my family’s wooden bowling lanes, Ferguson Bowling Lanes in Ferguson, MO, dating back to 1939!
Kyle built all of the cabinetry and tables. The front of the ice cream cake and barn doors were constructed from reclaimed materials obtained from Barry Moon of Old House Parts in Evansville, IL.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Starting a shop from scratch with no knowledge of owning a business was a risk. We learned along the way and are still learning every day. Also, when I got laid off in September 2020 due to COVID and decided not to get another job, going all in with our ice cream shop and starting offering catering was a risk. But I am so happy everything happened the way it happened. Everything happens for a reason, even if you don’t realize it at that moment.
Pricing:
- Single Scoop $3.75
- Double Scoop $5.75
- Triple Scoop $7.00
- Pint $10.50
- Flight $8.00
Contact Info:
- Website: slingnscoops.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sling_n_scoops/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sling-N-Scoops-111256623658131
Image Credits
Emily Jakob Potography, White Klump Photography and Mccune and Co Photography LLC
