A new family plans to add some ‘sizzle’ to this Penns Valley ice cream shop
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Scoop & Sizzle replaced Riddle’s Ice Cream Shop after the family sold the business.
- The new owners will keep the existing ice cream menu intact.
- Owners Tom and Melanie Wilkins plan to add quick-service food items to the menu.
A family-owned Penns Valley ice cream shop will remain just that after changing hands.
Riddle’s Ice Cream Shop, located at 4576 Penns Valley Road in Spring Mills, has rebranded after the namesake family sold the business earlier this spring. The shop has already reopened as Scoop & Sizzle, offering the same ice cream community members crave, with plans to add food to the menu.
“I think people were worried we’d change the menu in huge ways, but we’ve reiterated that the existing menu is staying exactly the same,” said Melanie Wilkins, co-owner of Scoop & Sizzle. “The Riddles did such a great job, and everyone loved what they offered. We want to keep things the same without making huge changes for everyone in the valley.”
Scoop & Sizzle still offers hand-scooped Penn State Berkey Creamery ice cream, Galliker’s Dairy soft serve ice cream, milkshakes, miniature donuts and signature dishes like the Fat Elvis: a unique blend of chocolate milkshake, peanut butter sauce and bananas. Down the line, Melanie and her husband, Tom, hope to add quick-service options like hot dogs, burgers, french fries and chicken tenders to the menu, adding some “sizzle” and fulfilling the expectations set by their shop’s new name.
The vision for Scoop & Sizzle is heavily influenced from Tom Wilkins’ nine years managing a hot dog shop near New Castle. Now, he and his wife are working to run a local business that can provide quick and easy treats and dining options for Penns Valley families.
“He’s always wanted to have his own restaurant like that,” Melanie Wilkins said of her husband.
The opportunity to acquire the former Riddle’s Ice Cream Shop arrived spontaneously, the Wilkins said, when they read about the Riddle family’s plans to sell the business in the Valley News community mailer. They were already familiar with the shop since moving to the area in 2018 and have fond memories of bringing their children there for sweet treats on summer nights.
For nine seasons, Kristen and Andy Riddle operated the ice cream shop alongside their daughters and later expanded by taking over the former Penns Valley Pharmacy. This latest transition arrived at a fitting time for the family, as the Riddles’ oldest daughter studies elementary education at Penn State and the youngest prepares to head to play volleyball and study business administration at the Pennsylvania College of Technology.
Raising their daughters in shop helped provide them with valuable practice solving problems, growing their business acumen and communicating with customers, the Riddles said.
“We are definitely going to miss the relationships we’ve built with members of our community,” the Riddle family wrote in a message. “It’s sad to step down but exciting to continue to watch our girls advance into their next stage of life.”
The Wilkins expect to run Scoop & Sizzle as a family, too. Tom and Melanie’s five children are a bit too young to work in the shop now, they said, but are already excited to lend a hand whenever possible.
“We’ve always wanted to have a business where we’re our own bosses, giving us time for our family, too,” Melanie Wilkins said.
The transition to operating Scoop & Sizzle has been relatively smooth for Tom and Melanie, who’ve taken over as first-time business owners. Tom works as a certified radon professional at Centre Hall’s Oak Leaf Environmental, while Melanie studied elementary education and works with children.
“Cooking and baking have always been passions of mine,” Melanie Wilkins said. “Running the shop isn’t too different from taking orders from my kids. Now, we’re just serving plenty of other people.”
For now, Scoop & Sizzle is open from 4-9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Once they add food to the menu, the Wilkins plan to offer expanded hours that could make it an even more attractive option for families visiting the nearby Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School and the Penns Valley Junior-Senior High School.
%202.JPG)