Summer, baseball, and ice cream are something of an American Holy Trinity, and customers of Big League Scoops and Shaves in the Santa Maria Town Center can indulge in the best of all worlds in one fell swoop.
Just 26 years old, Big League owner Matthew Rick received his confectionary education from Bernardo’s Ice Cream Parlor (now Doc Burnstein’s) when he was a student at Arroyo Grande High School. Earlier this year, when mall owner Greg Kozack approached him for ideas on opening a new ice cream parlor, one thing led to another, and the job of running it dropped in Rick’s capable hands.
“I had a really good opportunity, so I jumped on it,” Rick said. “It’s not too easy to get a hold of something at this age.”
A huge baseball fan, Rick came up with a baseball-themed ice cream and sweet shop, complete with scoreboards, a Dodgers’ jersey, and various memorabilia. He hopes to eventually add a TV playing baseball games to enhance the experience.
“Instead of doing the basic, boring ice cream shop, I figured why not put in what I really enjoy and make it something you don’t see everywhere?” Rick said.
As for the good stuff, Big League serves up 24 flavors of SLO Maid old-fashioned ice cream, manufactured with ingredients from the dairy at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Though the delectable selection runs the gamut, according to Rick, all the classic flavors remain the most popular: chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. Next are the frosted cupcake and cheesecake-flavored ice creams, followed by moose tracks.
Rick also sells shaved ice, which he makes with syrups he creates himself from real fruit or 100 percent fruit juice. By popular demand, he’s added frozen chocolate-covered bananas and chocolate-covered cheesecake to the menu, and everything he serves is made either on the premises or at the nearby Central City Candy shop, which his mother operates.
“With the warmer weather, [business] has picked up quite a bit,” Rick reported. “With all the new businesses coming in the mall, it’s just going to get better and better.”
Big League Scoops and Shaves is on the bottom level of the Town Center, next to Macy’s. It’s open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For more information, call 614-7650 or e-mail bigleaguescoops@gmail.com.
Highlights
The Far Western Tavern in Guadalupe announced Rick Manson, renowned chef and proprietor of Chef Rick’s Ultimately Fine Foods in Orcutt, will take the reins as the award-winning restaurant’s executive chef starting July 15.
“I’m not going away—I’m just moving up the road,” Manson said in a press release. “This is a remarkable opportunity to focus on what I do best and to grow my career as a chef, and I couldn’t pass it up.”
Manson closed Chef Rick’s on June 25 and joins the Far Western Tavern in advance of that restaurant’s move to Old Orcutt, slated for the early spring of 2012. The former Chef Rick’s space is available for leasing, and the infrastructure of the restaurant is up for sale.
Far Western co-owner Renee Righetti-Fowler said Manson would bring energy and enthusiasm to the restaurant’s kitchen. While adding Manson’s signature creativity, the traditional Far Western menu will remain intact. The restaurant will honor all unredeemed Chef Rick’s gift certificates, and Manson will continue to execute all previously scheduled catering events booked through his old restaurant.
Manson succeeds current chef Barbara
Abernethy, who began working at the Far Western Tavern in 1974 and will retire in 2012.
• Shea Homes Active Lifestyle Communities announced that its Trilogy at Monarch Dunes community in Nipomo has been listed as one of Where to Retire Magazine’s Top 50 Best Master-Planned Communities in the country.
The magazine’s editors analyzed more than 150 communities across the nation and honored those that were “amenity-rich, with clubhouses, recreation and activities to help residents stay fully engaged.”
Trilogy at Monarch Dunes is situated near the Monarch Dunes Golf Course and offers amenities such as The Monarch Club resort, which includes a fitness center, pool, and full-service spa; the “Grand Living Room” with fireplaces and fine dining; and “The Avila Room” events center.
“The Short List: 50 Best Master-Planned Communities in the United States” will appear on newsstands in the magazine’s July/August issue.
For more information, visit TrilogyLife.com or call 1-800-685-6494. m
Biz Spotlight/Highlights are written and compiled by Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, e-mail, or mail.
This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 7, 2011.