Taking over West LA scoop by scoop

▲Matthew Kang, owner of Scoops Westside, serving the flavors from top to bottom: Vanilla Bourbon, Raspberry Passion, Salty Chocolate and Peanut Butter Toffee  ⓒ2013 heraldk.com

The summer heat is getting intense and what better way to abate it than to eat ice cream! Word of mouth says that Scoops Westside is a must go and eat! Introducing a hidden gem in the corner of overland Ave and Woodbine St in Culver City, Scoops Westside utilizes their “girl/boy next door” charm to interact and build a relationship with their customers and Social
Media savvy to improve their business.

There are currently three different branches of Scoops. The original branch of Scoops, owned by Tai Kim, is located in East Hollywood. The second branch, Scoops Westside, was opened about two and a half years ago by Matthew Kang, a loyal customer, foodie andformer commercial banker. The third branch, the newest of the three, is located in Highland Park and is stated to be owned by the brother of the original Scoops, Dai Kim.

For those that are not too familiar with Scoops and their concept, it is an ice cream store that at first glance, you may be at a loss. Scoops goes against the current trend of businesses where everything is at a fast pace, most businesses want customers to come in, order their food and, if possible get out quickly so that there will be room for more customers. Scoops is a neighborhood friendly ice cream store that wants customers to come in and be amazed by their creative flavors and discover what they are. They encourage customers to come in and to input their opinions and suggest what flavors they would like to try as an ice cream. “I want customers to come here and find out that there is no concept of what we are and what we’ll have” said Matthew Kang, owner of Scoops Westside.

When it comes to their palette of flavors, there is a theme of unpredictability and creativity. In the past, Scoops Westside have sold interesting flavors such as pizza, and even Korean inspired flavors such as makgeolli (Korean unfiltered rice wine), red bean,roasted rice (neurongi), black sesame ginger, black sesame honey and black sesame banana. For those that have never had Makgeolli before, they wouldn’t even know how to pronounce it. When Makgeolli ice cream came out, a lot of customers would be intrigued and ask a lot of questions about it. “I have never had makgeolli before the ice cream and didn’t know what it was at first. When I first tried it, it was very distinct, unfamiliar, not subtle but good” said Rochelle O, regular customer at Scoops Westside.

ⓒ2013 heraldk.com

All flavors and ice creams are created at the headquarters of the original Scoops. It is to ensure that the recipes and the know-how to making Scoops ice cream stays within the family. Even Kang does not know what flavors they will sell until the Kim brothers deliverthe ice creams in the morning. The only flavors that he is certain that they will be selling are some flavors that have not been sold out the previous day and their daily must haves. Scoops Westside will always be selling some kind of nondairy ice creamand also their signature, the Brown Brown Bread. Brown Brown Bread is actually a mixture of different flavors such as caramel ice cream infused with grape raisin cereal.

Although, there is a theme of unpredictability with the flavors of ice cream, this is also why people are so amazed with Scoops. People come in baffled because there are no signs or instructions of what and how to order, instead the interior is simple and there is just the ice cream case that showcases all the flavors of that day. For those that need to know what flavors are sold before they check out the store, Scoops Westside is the only branch that utilizes social media to update their customers. You can check out their Facebook or Twitter, which is updated by 1pm daily, and find out the flavors of the day. Another thing that sets Scoops Westside apart from the other two Scoops, is they sell coffee. Their signature is actually a mixture of the coffee and ice cream, Afogato. The espresso is strong and rich and the Brown Brown Bread (Caramel ice creamwith grape raisin cereal) adds a sweet and crunchy addition to it.

Be sure to check out Scoops Westside and keep an eye out on their social media platforms to see what flavors they will sell that day. or if you are feeling adventurous, just come out to the store and takeon a journey of taste by sampling every creative flavors and decide what your favorite ice cream of the day is. You will never be bored with ice cream when you have Scoops!

Scoops Westside
Address: 3400 Overland Ave, Los Angeles CA
Hours of Operation:

Monday- Saturday 12pm- 10pm

For more information and daily flavor menu:

Website: http://www.scoopswestside.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScoopsWestside
Twitter: @scoopswestside

Scoops branches
East Hollywood Branch (Original)
Address: 5105 York Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

Highland Park Branch
Address: 712 N Heliotrope Dr, Los Angeles, CA