A new shop in southwest Illinois will feature homemade cookies, frozen custard
Collinsville will soon welcome a new walk-up frozen custard shop.
Uptown Scoops is a new business included in the plans for the expansion of Old Herald Brewery & Distillery (more on that soon).
I spoke with the shop’s owner, Donna Green (no relation) about her plans for the business and what it will offer.
Green had one day hoped to operate her own small business.
Knowing this, Old Herald owner Derik Rieser approached her about doing just that on the future site of Herald Square.
Green created a working business model, opting not to focus on coffee – there are plenty of places to get coffee in Collinsville. She realized that there are no custard shops in or conveniently near uptown Collinsville.
And so Uptown Scoops came to be.
The new shop, to be located at the corner of Clay Street and Morrison Avenue, will feature frozen custards and freshly baked cookies, according to Green.
Staple custard flavors will include vanilla and chocolate. Other flavors will rotate weekly and include different toppings, and maybe some of those cookies I mentioned.
Green said that once open, the fun begins, and she will experiment with new recipes, which will include some inspiration from Ardent Spirits, part of Old Herald Brewery & Distillery .
The custard shop will not have a liquor license, so the focus will be on the flavors, inspired by the spirits across the lawn. Maple-bourbon or limoncello custard, anyone?
With plans to bring tasty custards to the masses, Green says it’s the cookies that are her love. Cookies will be baked daily and made from her own recipes, compiled over the years as she baked for her family.
Uptown Scoops will offer walk-up window service from its revamped 10-by-40-foot shipping container. The structure will feature a rooftop deck with seating for up to 20 people. A nearby patio will seat 40 customers.
Green brings a good deal of business experience to her new endeavor.
After nearly 10 years as manager of Crave Coffee House, a nonprofit coffee shop in St. Louis, Green learned much about this type of quick-service business.
Green left Crave in 2014 to work with her husband Phil Green and their son Scott Green (again, no relation) at their former business, Green Home Solutions.
Donna Green educated herself about running a small business through the Metro East Small Business Development Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Eventually the Greens launched an AdvantaClean franchise, where Green worked as a business development manager.
Green is also active in the Collinsville community. She served on the city’s Uptown Development Commission, attended city council meetings and learned what she could about her city.
Today she serves on the Collinsville City Council.
As far as the opening for Uptown Scoops, Green is “shooting for May … the middle of May.”
She wants to make sure they get the routine down and everything up and running smoothly well before the International Horseradish Festival on June 3-4.
Green hopes to be open as long as possible during the year. October will bring hot chocolate for the customers, letting Green incorporate her previous coffee shop experience.
She plans to close for January, but the weather at that time will likely be a factor.
We will “play that by ear,” according to Green.
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
