NEWBERRY — With summer quickly approaching, what better way to get ready than with an ice cream cone at The Corner Scoop at 1300 Main St.
Owned by father-son duo Kevin and Bruce Clamp, The Corner Scoop has a traditional feel with checkered floors and a wide selection of ice cream flavors.
“I’ve been an insurance adjuster traveling and I was tired of being away from Newberry because this is my hometown. The idea to start a business wasn’t necessarily for an ice cream parlor,” said Kevin Clamp. “We acquired the building and then in searching around, I think the Chamber mentioned different services that Newberry doesn’t provide and (people) have to go outside of town for.”
For Clamp and his father, an ice cream shop was a new venture.
“Everybody was saying how we really needed this and we have had nothing but overwhelming support. I think a lot of people felt like it was time for an ice cream shop in Newberry,” Clamp said.
Clamp said it’s a learning process, saying that his time working in a brew pub gave him some valuable restaurant experience, from washing dishes to cooking hamburgers. That job taught Clamp a lot about the business aspect and helped him learn more about the restaurant and how it should flow.
“Until you do it all for yourself, you get little bits and pieces of what you think you might need to be doing. So it’s been kind of tough but since Pork in the Park, I’ve figured how I can streamline the lines,” said Clamp. “The good part was that they were getting their ice cream while they were waiting, so they weren’t so upset that they had to wait to pay.”
The Corner Scoop offers 48 different flavors and of those flavors, there are yogurt options, sherbets and one sorbet along with low fat and no sugar added options.
“Over the past couple of days, people have had nothing but positive things to say. They were either saying this needed to be here or that they’ve been waiting for it. I’ve gotten positive feedback for convenience and the fact that we offer a lot of flavors. I think all the work we did on our building, they gave good feedback on that and thought we designed it right,” said Clamp. “Newberry was mine and my dad’s only choice. My dad was born and raised here. He left during the Vietnam Era and traveled as a pilot. I’ve been here pretty much all my life and to me Newberry is the center of the universe.”
The Corner Scoop is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays will be used for private functions.
“Newberry’s been good to us, so we instantly want to start paying Newberry back for how they’ve been treating us so far. I think people want us to stay here and I think I’ll be seeing a lot of people a lot more frequently than I’ve been seeing,” said Clamp. “We wanted to bring back that old diner feel with the checkerboard floors, but that’s what we were going for with our banana splits and sundaes, the old traditional kind of thing. I want folks to come relive their childhood and create memories with their grandkids. I was shooting for a good family atmosphere.”
