On the corner of Griffin Street and Keys Ferry Street sits a group of rocking chairs under a black-and-white striped awning. The curlicue store lettering above and welcoming facade invite guests to venture inside and enjoy a sweet treat. Upon entering, guests are met with comforting aromas and an array of sweet treats—from candies to chocolates to ice cream to drinks both cold and warm and more.

Brandy Blackburn, Scoops McDonough Owner and Operator, shared that Scoops hopes to evoke a sense of nostalgia with their vintage barstools, checkered floors, and variety of sweet treat offerings.

“We kind of want to pull that nostalgic feel, from the candy and the floats to your old bottle shoppe ice cream store kind of thing,” said Blackburn. “We also pull in more of the modern, so we try to find the most popular TikTok candies and things that the kids are seeing on social media.” 

“We have something for all ages,” shared Blackburn. Scoops proudly serves 32 flavors of ice cream and offers non-dairy options, such as sorbet.  

Showcasing the expertise of their in-house baker and chocolatier, they make fresh cookie cakes, miniature cookie cakes, caramel apples, and an array of gourmet truffles, including favorites like turtles and buckeyes. The staff often enjoys incorporating their creativity into their sweets, adding a unique flair to their treat designs, and even trying their hand at new recipes.

“We love the opportunity to get to be creative with some of the stuff that we do but also to get to go outside the box a little bit,” said Blackburn. Scoops recently added the viral Dubai Chocolate bars to the menu, which have sold out multiple times to date.

Blackburn shared that Scoops is not just a place to find a cool treat to beat the summer heat but also a place to make lasting memories.

“It’s really cool when the community views us as the place that they want to go to celebrate or commemorate things that happen in their life, like a birthday or a graduation or winning a ball game, or just a date night or after-dinner treat,” said Blackburn. “We really like to view ourselves as the family fun spot that’s on the Square.”

Though the summer heat does not last forever, Scoops has something to offer through every season and holiday—from hot chocolate, cocoa bombs, warm sundaes, and coffee in the cold months to chocolate-covered strawberries for Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day and back to ice cream in the summertime. 

In addition to welcoming guests into their family-friendly environment, they are passionate about supporting the Henry County community. “Any opportunity that we have to partner with the city, the community or other businesses, we like to try to take advantage of that opportunity too,” expressed Blackburn.

By Erin Lopez