Scoopz Re-Opens Under New Management

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Published on Friday, 29 August 2014 22:05

The Scoopz ice cream parlor in the Ave Maria town center is open for business again, and new owner Terri Rementeria plans to expand the menu choices beyond the myriad ice cream flavors that have been its staple since opening a year and a-half ago.

Ms. Rementeria (pictured with her daughter and partner Naiara) also owns the popular Camelia St. Grill in Everglades City, and she said she will be expanding the kitchen to bring some of the flavors of that waterfront establishment – such as stone crab and salads from home-grown organic greens and herbs – to Ave Maria.

"We're going to be an organic food shop with salads, soup and sandwiches along with seasonal items such as fresh stone crab and a 'blue crab boil' with crab, shrimp and corn on the cob." The greens and herbs will come from her Everglades City garden initially, but she said she also will be putting in an organic garden behind Scoopz to supply the Ave Maria location.

Her daughter, Naiara, who has been working at the Camelia St. Grill will manage that establishment, leaving Ms. Rementeria free to concentrate on Scoopz, which she said might get a different name in the future, reflecting the expanded fare.

The deal to buy Scoopz from its founder Helen Altomari came together quickly, Ms. Rementeria said. She got interested in Ave Maria because she wanted her granddaughter, now three years old, to be able to attend faith-based schools. "I went to Ave Maria in July last year, and fell in love. My mission was to find a way to get there. I felt in my heart it was meant to be."

She is having a home built in the Maple Ridge neighborhood and will move from Everglades City when it is completed.

Ms. Rementeria expects to be in Ave Maria a long time. "I hope my granddaughter will graduate from Ave Maria University," she said

(photo by Bob Wunker)