ANNA MARIA – In October, Two Scoops ice cream in Anna Maria celebrated its 15th anniversary.
Two Scoops is located in the Bayview Plaza, at the end of Pine Avenue, across the street from the Anna Maria City Pier.
Owner Dave LaBell and his family also own and operate the Two Sides of Nature and Two Sides of Nature Too clothing, gift and décor stores located in Bayview Plaza.
“It’s a family business,” LaBell said. “We’re all engaged. My wife, my daughter and I work between the stores and the ice cream store and I basically do the buying and the merchandising for the three stores.”
LaBell also has another professional passion. Since 2005, he’s worked for the Tampa Bay Times newspaper doing promotions and promotional events.
Over the years, some things have changed at Two Scoops and some things remain the same. When Two Scoops began in 2006 the menu offerings were limited to ice cream and chili dogs.
Two Scoops now offers 32 flavors of homemade ice cream – including yogurt and sorbets – chili dogs, hot dogs, Barnie’s Coffee, espresso, lattes, specialty drinks and more. Two Scoops sells both Coke and Pepsi products, as well as vintage and nostalgic collectible bottled sodas and several varieties of nostalgic candies.
“We continue to grow and evolve. We’ve expanded our menu. Now we’ve got a full breakfast menu and a full lunch menu with all kinds of sandwiches. Our volume has increased and our specialty gift sales have increased, including our bottled sodas,” LaBell said
“We still have homemade ice cream. Our chili dogs have been a staple and a favorite for 15 years now. They’re all-beef hotdogs with chili, cheese and onions and we price them at $2.19 so people don’t have to spend a fortune on lunch. We still pride ourselves on our prices and our service,” he added. “We always have three to five people on staff at all times to make sure we can get people in and out quickly. And we still celebrate all the holidays and decorate the building with the rest of the plaza.
“Our T-shirts are a big seller and have become very popular over the years. A lot of folks come in wearing their Two Scoops T-shirts and we see family photos of them all wearing their Two Scoops T-shirts,” LaBell said.
The Two Scoops interior décor includes large figurines of Betty Boop, an ice cream sundae, a coffee bean, a penguin and more.
“I’m a big prop person, so anytime I see something that fits the theme of Two Scoops I have to have it. We just have fun with that stuff and try to create a fun atmosphere,” LaBell said.
“We’re a family-owned business and we appreciate the support we’ve had over the past 15 years. We have over 1,200 Facebook followers who celebrate and let us know when they’re coming to town. We appreciate their support and business. And always, our motto is ‘Two Scoops is better than one,’” LaBell said.
“We have a great crew that works with us and they have a lot of fun – as they should because they’re serving dessert to people on vacation. We have some employees that have been with us for 15 years since we opened,” LaBell said.
“We have great relationships with our vendors and suppliers. We’ve had to search a little bit harder for some products but, for the most part, we have fared very well. During the COVID pandemic, we only closed for a couple weeks and we started a takeout window,” he added.
“We’ve had a busy season and now that travel is opening up more, we expect to see more of our northern friends and our European travelers as well. I think we’re going to see another great season. The Island is a unique space and a great place to visit,” LaBell said. “We have customers who brought their kids in when they were five or six years old. Now they’re going to college and they bring them in to say hello, which we enjoy and appreciate.”
Located at 101 South Bay Blvd. Unit A2, Two Scoops is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. You can visit Two Scoops online at the Two Scoops website.
