Scoops out for summer: Couple’s rock-themed ice cream brand Alice Scooper’s adds another shop on its Northland tour

Mel Engel and Todd Eaton are now taking a second stage, opening their family business — a shop known for made-on-site ice cream and sorbet — in a new Northland city after charting quick success in their hometown.

Alice Scooper’s Ice Cream Co. is set to debut next week in The Village at Briarcliff, 4173 N. Mulberry Dr. The shop first broke onto the scene about 18 months ago in Liberty.

“Something we’ve always wanted to do was expand,” said MelEngel, owner with her husband, Eaton. “A lot of our DoorDash orders come from that area.”

The couple makes their ice cream and sorbet with an emphasis on fresh, local ingredients, and using less stabilizer than many brands to be as close to homemade as possible.

Flavors have playful nods to hit songs such as “Sweet Home Alabama” (vanilla), “Red Corvette” (strawberry), “Goldigger” (chocolate ice cream with raspberry swirl and brownie pieces), “Start Me Up” (coffee ice cream and creamy caramel swirl), and “Calm Down” (pink cotton candy ice cream with sprinkles swirl).

“The Conway Twinkie” from Alice Scooper’s Ice Cream Co.; photo by Charity K Photography

Engel adds such nostalgic treats as Twinkies (“The Conway Twinkie” with Twinkie pieces topped with strawberry and vanilla ice cream, strawberries, sliced bananas, whipped cream and a cherry), and Grasshopper cookies (“The Green Day,” mint ice cream with chocolate chips and Grasshopper cookie pieces).The shop also offers vegan, keto, gluten-free and non-dairy selections. 

Bubble teas come with a choice of popping boba or jellies. The shop also offers iced coffees, frozen coffees, frozen milk teas, boba milk, energy drinks, smoothies, shakes and floats.

It has more than 40 syrup flavors under fruity, floral or spiced. Customers can choose up to three. 

Alice Scooper’s also sells Pup Cups: peanut butter or banana topped with a crunchy treat. All profits go to local animal rescues.

Mel Engel and Todd Eaton outside the new Alice Scooper’s Ice Cream Co. location at The Village at Briarcliff; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

The duo initially launched Alice Scooper’s in early 2020 in Palmetto, Florida — where Eaton worked frequently and they maintained a second home — after spending months testing ice cream recipes. They later sold it to focus on opening the concept closer to their other homebase in Missouri. (That original location ultimately rebranded.)

Engel left her nursing position while Eaton kept his full-time job.

Alice Scooper’s opened in December 2023 in New Mark Shopping Center at 10207 N. Oak Trafficway.

Before expanding, the couple wanted a whole calendar year of operations behind them to see how the business performed each month. Spring and summer sales help sustain ice cream shops through the sluggish winter months, they noted. 

And while Engel and Eaton considered waiting until 2026 to expand — so they could observe another full spring season — the Briarcliff project came together quickly.

“This has been a dream of ours; something we thought would be fun to do and we talked it to life,” Mel said. “It’s a labor of love.”

Chance Barrow of the Shawver Group handled the lease negotiations.

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Startland News contributor Joyce Smith covered local restaurants and retail for nearly 40 years with The Kansas City Star. Click here to follow her on Bluesky, here for X (formerly Twitter), here for Facebook, here for Instagram, and by following #joyceinkc on Threads.