New Ice Cream Pop-Up Helps Businesses Offset Rent Costs

Scoopy Scoopy was inspired as every great business should be—by a pregnancy craving. Zach Zien’s wife Sophia is due with their baby this December, and early on in her pregnancy, she yearned for the sweet, melty release of ice cream. There was just one problem—the rise of local ice cream hadn’t yet made it to their neighborhood in Cardiff. He found himself (wisely) driving her all over the county to satisfy her fix.

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“Every time we would go to a store, no matter the day, no matter the hour, we were just kind of amazed that there were always 10, 15, 20 people in line, and another 10, 15 people sitting around eating ice cream,” he says. 

Zien* and his buddy Steven Segal put their heads together and came up with a business model based on efficiency and collaboration. By sourcing super premium** ice cream from Wisconsin’s Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream and coordinating with local coffee shops to pop up after its normal business hours, they could fill the ice cream void, cross-promote between brands, and help offset the shops’ rent costs by paying them a percentage of sales.

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“Our goal is that we will pay their rent for them, simply [by] them letting us use this space when they’re not occupying it,” he explains. 

Scoopy Scoopy launched on Fourth of July weekend at Bump Coffee in Cardiff and has since popped up at Bump’s Leucadia location, as well as Michi Michi baking collective in Bankers Hill. This week, they’ll start a month-long residency at Michi Michi (Sept. 28-Oct. 29, every Sunday through Wednesday, 3:30-9 p.m.). 

Flavors range from classics to the wackily-named Party Animal (pink sugar cookie blended with animal crackers and rainbow sprinkles), Super Human (bright blue cherry, blue moon, and vanilla), and crowd favorites like peanut butter cookie dough and mint chip. Zien says they always offer their host businesses the chance to collaborate on a special flavor or ingredient, like the Michi Michi croissant cone. (Don’t get used to cones, though—for easy cleanup, Scoopy Scoopy is usually cup-only.)

Zien, who now runs Scoopy with Sophia on top of his day job as a real estate broker, says the goal is to eventually make this his full-time gig, with more pop-ups, residencies, catering jobs, parties, and perhaps one day, a brick-and-mortar shop. So far, his experiment seems to be working. 

“It’s just been incredibly fun,” he says. “And it’s meant to be fun—it’s ice cream.”

*Sam “The Cooking Guy” Zien is Zach’s dad. Sam actually credits his son with changing his career when he convinced him to leave TV and start his own YouTube channel years ago (Sam now has 3.8 million followers). 

**Super premium is a designation meaning “with less air and more butterfat than regular ice cream.” Zien just calls it “real good.”

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

Beth’s Bites

• Even in today’s polarizing times, I think we can all agree that breast cancer is bad and wine dinners are generally good. If that seems like a reasonable stance to take, head to the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina on Saturday, October 11 to enjoy a multi-course dinner with California winery J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines to support the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Co-owner/President/CEO Steve Lohr—who helped his dad Jerry plant their first vines in 1972—will be on hand to talk about the family legacy and future. 
• Modern Times Beer hit hard times over the past few years, but they’re giving everything they’ve got toward making a comeback. They’ve reconfigured themselves into different brands covering beer, hospitality, and coffee, the latter of which is moving into the Brewery Igniter space in North Park to launch the Cathedral of Caffeination. Couple that with the opening of Timestead at 1065 4th Avenue and Chronos Hall at 325 15th Street and I’m not sure how the social media manager keeps all those handles straight.
• Happy Negroni Week to those who celebrate—where are you headed to imbibe? Communion, Happy Medium, and Cucina Urbana all have fun riffs that I’m eyeing, but drop your faves on our Instagram if you’re so inclined. 
• Another reason to celebrate this week—it’s Mabel’s Gone Fishing’s third birthday! The Michelin-recognized seafood spot on 30th Street is throwing a four-course, family-style, one night only feast this Saturday, September 27 to mark the occasion. Snag a ticket before they’re gone (and once word gets out that the restaurant is bringing back the crowd-pleasing swordfish schnitzel, they’ll go fast).

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