When Leona’s Ice Cream opened the doors to its first scoop shop, co-owners Katie Heldstab and Christa Puskarich weren’t chasing the frenzy of summer; in fact, it was last November. They were playing the long game. Opening the Garfield shop during the colder months, Heldstab says, gave them the breathing room to develop procedures, train staff and work out kinks before Pittsburgh’s ice-cream cravings hit their annual peak.
Cool Off with Leona’s Ice Cream in Garfield
That patience tracks with the brand’s history. Leona’s launched 13 years ago with a singular calling card: oversized, artisanal ice cream sandwiches. The flavors span comforting classics (think cinnamon ice cream tucked between oatmeal lace cookies) to inventive combinations such as black sesame paired with salted tahini chocolate chunk. Over the years, those sandwiches have landed Leona’s in freezers and display cases across the city, wholesaled alongside pints and ice cream sandwiches at cafes, markets and restaurants.
The Garfield scoop shop expands on that foundation rather than abandoning it. “We’ll always have our sandwiches,” Heldstab says, “but now we also have scoops, in a cup or a cone — and we’ll always have a warm brownie sundae.”
There are pints to go, too — it’s never a mistake to bring home some extra lavender & honeycomb — plus a playful new option: build-your-own ice cream sandwiches. Customers choose their cookies, ice cream and toppings then watch as they’re rolled into a fully customized, gloriously messy treat.
Always Working on Something New
Even though they’ve honed their ice cream flavors and cookie recipes to exactly what works, the team has also leaned into experimentation. At the counter, there’s a steady rotation of grab-and-go bars like dippies, which is their take on a classic chocolate-dipped ice cream bar, and a scoop-shop exclusive, “crispwiches,” a brown butter Rice Krispie treat ice cream sandwich made with gluten-friendly ingredients.
Behind the scenes, the move into retail is as much strategic as it is joyful. The wholesale landscape, Heldstab notes, has shifted as customers spend more cautiously. A scoop shop comes with its own challenges, but it also offers something invaluable: direct connection. “It’s great,” says Heldstab. “Here, you get to be the highlight of someone’s day, not just another item on a grocery list.”
Story by Emily Catalano
Photo by Matt Dayak for Leona’s Ice Cream