‘I love working here’: New JoCo ice cream shop employs people with disabilities

Ian Miller, 29, has a bachelor’s degree and has worked a variety of jobs — from cashier to telemarketer.

But he said he’s never had one that has been so supportive.

“I have a disability, cerebral palsy, and the management has been great,” Miller said between scooping ice cream and ringing up customers’ orders. “They are very responsive to our needs and that’s really important. I love working here. Everyone is happy.”

Miller is one of 21 employees with developmental disabilities at The Golden Scoop in Overland Park.

In its first week, the nonprofit shop has served some 4,000 scoops of its house-made ice cream. It also offers coffee drinks, cookies, blueberry muffins, brownies and more, and plans to soon offer smoothies. On one recent day, many of the tables were filled and a steady stream of customers filed in.

The Golden Scoop has been nearly three years in the making.

One of the founders, Lindsay Krumbholz, has worked as a behavioral therapist for 18 years, teaching life skills to children with developmental disabilities. She saw similar nonprofit concepts — a coffee shop in North Carolina, an ice cream shop in Texas — and decided a combination coffee and ice cream shop would draw even more customers.

She brought in her sister, Amber Schreiber, who has an MBA from Rockhurst University, and Schreiber’s friend, Michelle Reeves, a former caterer, who now serves as vice president of marketing, culinary and creative for The Golden Scoop.

The three founders wanted a shop where the employees would be “mentored, inspired and equipped to succeed in their jobs and their lives.”

Golden Scoop employees, called “super scoopers,” make the ice cream base, scoop ice cream and pour coffee, ring up orders, and help with marketing.

“We model the business to fit them and not have the employees fit the business,” Reeves said.

While some customers said they first came in to support the community, they already have favorite menu items that have kept them coming back.

The strawberry ice cream has jam preserves made by an employee’s brother who owns “My Father Was a Jam Maker.”

Employees also create a flavor of the month. Lucy Wagner, 23, has a vanilla ice cream called Lucy’s 41 (Reeves tried 40 versions of the dairy-free recipe before the ideal 41st version).

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 17.9% of people with a disability were employed in 2020, down from 19.3% in 2019.

“The unemployment rate is staggeringly high. They want to work, they want to be with their friends, they want to have a paycheck,” Reeves said. “One is going to use their first paycheck to take their girlfriend on a date. They are just like everyone else.”

One of the challenges was finding a Johnson County center that didn’t already have a coffee or ice cream shop. Nall Hills Shopping Center even gave them a slight break on the rent for the space at 9540 Nall Ave.

There are plans for more Golden Scoop shops in the Kansas City area.

“We’ve had people want to franchise across the nation. But we’ve probably had 200 requests locally with about 100 from the Liberty area,” Reeves.