Scoops on Main: Ice Cream and More in Youngsville

A New Adventure - Earl & Lisa Bennett

It was early New Year’s Day 2021. The ball had just dropped and we were gathered around the table playing games when Annabelle, our oldest who had been working at Scoops for the past year, said, “I heard Scoops is going to be sold next year.” For some reason we spent a few minutes talking about how fun it would be to own an ice cream store! Lots of fun ideas were shared. The conversation died down and we went back to playing games, but a seed of desire had been planted. A few weeks later, Annabelle called us from work to say, “I don’t know if you were actually serious about buying this place, but if you are, you need to get up here. Cameron is showing it to a couple right now!

We spoke with Cameron that evening and spent the next day praying about it and looking into financing only to learn that Cameron had promised it to the first couple. We were really sad for two weeks. Every time we thought about it or drove past the shop there was the sense of loss for something we never actually had. Then we got the call from Cameron that the couple’s financing fell through. He wanted to know if we were still interested. Of course, we said, “yes!" The Lord had provided a way. We took ownership on April 21, 2021. We still look at each other often and say, “I can’t believe we own an ice cream shop!”

A Family Affair - Cameron Stephenson

Cameron began helping out his uncle and aunt at the Wake Forest location. In 2016, when the growth of the business became too much for them, Eugene and Mary sold Scoops to Cameron and it became his full-time gig.

Over the next few years, Under Cameron’s care, Scoops saw much success. In 2018, Cameron followed a three-month contract job to the coast after hurricane Florence but found a home there and decided to stay. He continued to manage the behind-the-scenes business of the shop but left his daughter, who was 19 at the time, in charge of the day-to-day affairs for the next two and a half years.

By early 2021, it became clear that it was time to let scoops go. Even though it was something that had brought him much joy for a time, Cameron decided to sell the shop.

Humble Beginnings - Eugene & Mary Stephenson

Scoops on Main started all because two people had a desire to move the Lord’s work forward.

Eugene and Mary had been selling t-shirts at local events to raise money for ministry work. They were doing well, but noticed the ice cream cart near them always had a long line. Eager to do more, the idea to start an ice cream shop was born! They opened their doors on Main Street in Wake Forest, NC on July 1, 2015 with the purpose of funding mission trips.

The next year, they were unable to renew their lease and were desperate for a solution. By a bit of divine intervention, a customer in the shop overheard their dilemma and had the perfect solution: he offered them the building he had just purchased to use as an office for his construction company. It was in Youngsville, just three miles away and on Main Street! They wouldn’t even have to change their name! The Lord provided a way.