He said: Scooptacular
Jul 22, 2016, 5:32 AM
(Photo provided by Scooptacular.com)
My love affair began randomly at Lou Malnati’s upon tasting their cookie dessert topped with the best vanilla ice cream I’ve ever had in my life.
I asked them where this treasure came from, and that was the first time I heard the name: Scooptacular.
A little investigation and we discovered Scooptacular is small, family business located in Laveen, Ariz.
My business partner in crime and I set out to get our hands on some ice cream and were pleasantly surprised to find a great local success story along the way.
Nindi Wadhwa started his shop six years ago when he realized that there wasn’t much selection in Laveen for family outings. If you can’t find what you are looking for, why not make it yourself?
One thing led to another, and now they not only have two stores but you can also find their ice cream in multiple restaurants throughout the valley — Beckett’s Table, Lou Malnati’s and some Fox Concepts Restaurants, to name a few.
Keeping it local has allowed Scooptacular to become deeply ingrained in the community, hosting events and fundraisers all in an effort to bring the community closer together.
As for the actual ice cream, Wadhwa is willing to try anything when it comes to flavors. Some work out and some just become great stories.
During baseball season, they developed a hot dog flavor that had real pieces of hot dogs in it. It didn’t go over well, but the neighborhood kids started daring others to try it and it became infamous in its own way.
The Laveen Concrete Mix is named because of a concrete factory located down the street. It has caramel ice cream with graham cracker crumbs and chocolate “rocks.” It’s only available at the Laveen store and is worth the drive.
During Thanksgiving 2012, the local CBS affiliate did a story on the Turkey flavor ice cream Scooptacular created, and the story went national. Trending the day before Thanksgiving as the No. 3 story nationwide is not a bad way to start off a business.
Our new favorite is Taro. Yes, that’s right, the root vegetable!
Surprisingly, it is very addicting and trust us when we say it is worth trying for yourself. It is a lavender purple color and has a distinct taste.
The smell and flavor both reminded me of the Jelly Belly buttered popcorn flavor, which may sound unpleasant for an ice cream. But it was amazing.
There is a lot in store for this local, hidden gem. We can’t wait to see what new flavors are up next and where we see them expand!
For more information on Scooptacular, visit WhereShouldWeEat.com.