With the summer temperatures rising, ways to keep cool are on everyone’s minds. Our favorite way to beat the heat is by supporting local ice cream shops! Highland recently saw the opening of a new business on the square: City Scoops Creamery. This local ice cream chain was founded in October 2019 by Greg and Debbie Stamer and their two sons Tyler and Evan in Troy, IL. Since then, City Scoops Creamery has expanded twice, opening locations in both Edwardsville and now Highland. So what exactly drew City Scoops Creamery to Highland? “We really focus on working with small businesses and being community-driven,” Greg Stamer explains. “One of our vendors is Patty Cakes in Highland; they supply our cakes for our ice cream cakes. We started talking and she (owner Pat Jacoby) thought that Highland needed ice cream.” 

City Scoops Creamery is not your average ice cream shop for many reasons, but the most important aspect of their business is that everything is homemade. “Every batch is made from scratch,” says Stamer. “Our ice cream is a super-premium product which means that it comes with a high butterfat. We use the high-quality products in order to make a better product that you don’t have to eat a lot of to enjoy.” 

To all of the vegetarians and vegans out there, don’t fret! City Scoops Creamery offers dairy-free products as well, including my limited time favorite: the strawberry-lemonade sorbet. “All of the sorbets are really good, especially when the temperatures are close to 100 [degrees],” Stamer tells me. Can’t decide between hard-scoop ice cream and a sorbet? You don’t have to! A lot of customers will combine their favorite ice cream flavors with one of the sorbets. “One of the more popular combinations is Oreo ice cream with watermelon sorbet. You wouldn’t think it would be, but it’s actually pretty good,” Stamer admits. 

The options really are endless at City Scoops Creamery. On average, they offer a dozen different flavors as well as a few limited time offers at the Highland location, and their mission to support and uplift local businesses is always on their mind. “We collaborated with Goshen coffee for our ‘All Nighter’ ice cream. It’s a really nice, well-balanced coffee chip.” This flavor features coffee, dark chocolate chips, and a touch of Ghirardelli chocolate. “You can smell it as soon as you open up the tub, you go ‘Yup, that’s the coffee.’” 

They have loads of fan favorite options including salted caramel macchiato, brownie batter, southern bourbon butter pecan, and more! But if those flavors aren’t your style, you can always stick with a classic chocolate or vanilla. There really is something for everybody. Customers can order their ice cream in a cup, cone, or even as an ice cream sandwich! 

If their products don’t stand out, their desire to be a part of the community will. City Scoops Creamery launched their Highland location at Schweizerfest this past weekend and the turnout was incredible. “We want to be a really strong part of every community that we’re a part of. We want to bring notoriety to the area so that when people come and visit, they can experience some of the hidden treasures that most people don’t know about. Like City Scoops!” 

So, if you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind ice cream experience, check out City Scoops Creamery!