The Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce (CDCC) hosted a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for The Scoop on Loockerman on Wednesday, July 19th, at 1pm. The event was held at 305 W. Loockerman St. in Dover, Delaware. Chamber members and friends joined The Scoop on Loockerman team, NeighborGood Partners and the community to celebrate the Grand Opening of this new Social Enterprise!

The Scoop on Loockerman is Downtown Dover’s newest sweet treat to beat the heat! This Ice Cream shop offers a variety of ice cream flavors that are sure to please. Guests can also order water ice, hot dogs, snacks and more. Be sure to get your favorite ice cream scooped upon a fresh waffle cone, made daily!

As a part of NeighborGood Partners’ Restoring Central Dover’s initiative to build a strong community-their mission is to build community capital, increase public safety, engage youth in community, and expand adult & family services. The team felt that the Downtown Dover district was a prime location to provide this opportunity through The Scoop on Loockerman to meet the needs of the community they are here to serve.

The Scoop on Loockerman is a Social Enterprise, meaning that is built with the intention of giving back to the local community by serving at-risk youth. The Scoop on Loockerman offers an opportunity for youth to develop workforce training and business acumen in a safe and trusting environment, which can provide resources to other social needs. Since the shop’s soft opening in May 2023, The Scoop on Loockerman currently employs three young local community members who are gaining valuable business experience.

The inspiration behind The Scoop On Loockerman Social Enterprise was established by the research from the nation-wide initiative called the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Task Force, on social enterprise models and when they came across a nationally recognized social enterprise model in Dallas, Texas, Café Momentum. The Cafe Momentum model provides justice involved youth with the skills necessary to operate a restaurant, both the front of the house and the back of the house. The restaurant (enterprise) operates to support the Community Service Center (social) aspect of supporting the juveniles’ basic immediate needs to establish a sense of stability and achieve sustainable success. Essentially, the juveniles learn employment, social, and life skills training while working in the restaurant and can then connect with an on-site Community Service Center case manager who supports the juvenile’s career development milestones by providing not only resources for the juvenile, but for the juvenile’s family as well. The case managers provide stabilizing counseling in the areas of anger management, fatherlessness, abandonment, and trauma, as well as other social service needs.

After pitching the social enterprise model to SoDel Concepts (a Rehoboth Beach-based, chef-driven, group that develops and operates restaurants and businesses), they provided the PSN initiative with a $10,000 grant to purchase the necessary equipment to open the ice cream store that guests can now visit the store Tuesday-Saturday 11am-6:30pm.

For further information about The Scoop on Loockerman, please contact (302) 524-4484. Please join the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce in congratulating The Scoop on Loockerman, a NeighborGood Partners Initiative, on their Grand Opening!