Ice to meet you: The Scoop sells sweet and savory snacks on Main Street

There’s something sweet in the air in Buckley.

That would be ice cream you’re sniffing at 880 Main Street, the former gas station-turned-flower shop, now an ice cream store right in the heart of downtown across the street from City Hall.

The breezy, open interior is thematically blended from a retro 1950s look and a more modern-day aesthetic, meshing bright blue chairs and neon signs with reclaimed wood from the owner’s home and great big sliding doors.

Somehow, it works, and entrepreneurial co-owners and couple April and Bill Rattray can count on kids crowding the counter every weekend to get a cone or three. Their grand opening was July 30.

“We wanted to pay homage to the building itself,” co-owner Bill Rattray, 49, said. “I didn’t want to go total 50s diner, but (also have) a modern coffeehouse, ice cream shop feel.

The Rattrays met working at a Seattle toy manufacturer and have lived in Buckley for 11 years. April is currently a project manager while Bill has worked in sales.

April, 40, grew up in a family of business owners, like her grandmother’s bar and her mom’s sandwich shop. But her first job was — poetically — working at an ice cream shop, so The Scoop has brought things “full circle,” she said.

Also helping out at the shop are their three daughters: 17-year-old Kaitlin, 14-year-old Maddin and 8-year-old Addison, who obviously isn’t quite old enough to do real work.

The ice cream comes from the Tillamook and Cascade Glacier brands. The flavors include vanilla, mint chocolate chip, sherbert, strawberry and chocolate peanut butter, but Buckley’s favorite seems to be the chocolate chip cookie dough, April said.

It’s not just ice cream at The Scoop, though. In fact, the business is something of a turbocharged concessions stand, selling snacks like milkshakes, pretzels, nachos, pizza, energy drinks and cookies too. Now that they have a beer and wine license, adults can get a drink while they’re there, too.

In fact, you might just want to get a real dinner down the street before stopping in.

The Rattrays are used to spending time driving to Enumclaw or Bonney Lake for family time, April said, and they’ve wanted to open their own family-oriented business in Buckley for years.

They pounced when the Main Street location went on the market around Halloween last year.

“We loved the open concept of the building, something with an indoor-outdoor feel,” she said. “We envisioned this could be great as somewhere to bring families.”

The family bought the building for $310,000 according to the Pierce County Assessor’s Office, investing another $50,000 or so in getting the property in shape, April said. But like practically every small business, it wouldn’t have happened without the help of their friends and family, the Rattrays said.

The quirky building started its life in 1925, according to the Pierce County Assessor. The Rattrays have since added new fencing, outdoor lighting and seating, and even a water mister for hot days.

And the location itself is hard to beat. Just a couple blocks north up the street is the city’s middle school, and the Buckley Log Show grounds and Elk Ridge elementary school past that. Sitting right on Main Street, the business is poised to lure in visitors from parades and celebrations, or even a peckish employee from City Hall.

With their own daughters in local schools, “we knew that (with) foot traffic, it would be a big hit,” April said.

The Scoop is part of a broader push in recent years by business owners and city officials to invigorate Buckley’s Main Street, keep tax dollars circulating locally, and create a downtown shopping and recreation experience to rival Enumclaw’s.

The Rattrays carry coffee made by Anchor House across the street, for instance, and hope they can pass on what they’ve learned from opening a business to others in town eager to do so.

“That was a big motivation for us,” April said. “Can we be part of that revitalization? We’re seeing this as an opportunity … We’ve talked about how we can help the others. We want to see this grow, and see others succeed.”

Entrepeneurs at heart, April Rattray said they chose the name in part because “The Scoop” would be an easy brand to grow. If they’re successful in Buckley, they may one day look toward cities like Sumner or Puyallup to open up more Scoops.

“Not that we’re prepared for that yet, but we’re thinking about it,” she said.

The Scoop on Main

What: A retro-themed ice cream parlor selling cold treats like ice cream and milkshakes, and hot snacks like hot dogs, nachos, pizza and pretzels.

Where: 880 Main St., Buckley.

Hours: Opens 11 a.m. every day. Closes at 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 7 p.m. on Sundays.

Online: thescooponmainst.com

Prices: $3 for a single scoop, $5 for a double, add $1 for a waffle cone. Milkshakes: $5 for a 16-ounce. Donuts: $8 for a baker’s dozen. Hot dogs, nachos and pretzels are all $3.