Pure Joy Ice Cream, a favorite at Siloam Springs events and festivals for the past five years, will now be available year round. The business opened its first shop in downtown Siloam Springs last week.
A grand opening for Pure Joy Ice Cream, located at 108 N. Broadway, will be held from noon until 10 p.m. on Thursday.
The new store, owned by Matt and Meghan Feyerabend, offers the same ice cream made from fresh, locally sourced ingredients the business has been selling at festivals and retail outlets. Customers can buy the ice cream by the scoop in a cup, sugar cone or a homemade waffle cone, or by the pint.
In addition to the ice cream, Pure Joy has added milkshakes, freezees, sodas, syrups and other sweets to the menu.
"Pure Joy's approach to ice cream focuses on three elements: quality, partnership and fun," according to a press release. "Recipes use locally sourced and fair/direct trade ingredients, providing freshness and excellent quality while supporting other small businesses."
Matt Feyerabend started making small batches of ice cream for festivals and events in 2012. Pure Joy began selling ice cream by the pint and soon landed some wholesale accounts such as Ozark Natural Foods, Blackboard Grocery, Forks and Crust Pie Co., and Snack Lab.
When Whole Foods asked Pure Joy to start supplying them, Matt knew it was time to expand and open their own kitchen. At first he just planned to add a small freezer and cash register to the kitchen and be open a few days a week, but they had such a great response they decided to be open Tuesday through Saturday and to offer more menu items.
Matt said he likes making ice cream but his favorite part of the business is scooping it.
"I enjoy seeing people have a good time eating ice cream," he said. "I enjoy creating a space where the community feels like its something special and something we can all be proud."
Pure ingredients give Pure Joy Ice Cream its distinctive flavor, Matt said. The ice cream does not have any chemicals and does not have any air whipped into it, resulting in a richer flavor and denser texture. Instead of starting with extracts or syrups, they start with real ingredients such as lavender leaves or coco powder. They even bake their own cookies for the cookies and cream flavor.
"It's all made from scratch," Matt said. "The fact that we make it all from scratch makes it not only unique but it makes the taste that people are enjoying."
One of the most popular flavors is the Happy Goat, made from goat cheese and honey. The flavor, which is comparable to rich cheesecake, might sound strange, but most kids will choose it over vanilla, Matt said. Other favorites include Strawberry Lavender Sorbet and Midnight Mocha.
The opening of Pure Joy brought fresh life to the building on Broadway Street. The Feyerabends restored the interior and facade of their building, topping it off with a retro neon sign. The new business also added eight jobs to downtown Siloam Springs, he said.
"We intentionally chose Siloam because we love this community," Matt said. "We think there's a lot of neat things happening here and we think its better to be part of a great community than to be a part of a big community. We want to add something to the community that people will enjoy."
General News on 06/14/2017