What’s the Scoop, Metuchen’s home-made premium ice cream shop, has been run by Rutgers graduate Michael Schutz for the past nine years. This local business can be found on Main Street of Downtown Metuchen, across the street from New Jersey’s premier specialty running shop, Runner’s High.

As a local business patron and interested investor, Schutz bought What’s the Scoop from its previous owner in 2016. He described the transaction as being as simple as the seller asking Schutz if he was interested, and ultimately proceeding with the sale. Schutz was a frequent customer at What’s the Scoop and saw buying the local business as a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Schutz’s typical day at the local parlor entails coming in early before the store opens to customers. He prepares the store by completing daily tasks, like bringing deliveries inside, ensuring online orders are completed, and making a list of ice creams to make during the day. After this productive morning, employees come in, get the store ready, and open doors to customers.

One of the biggest challenges What’s the Scoop faces on a daily basis is making sure they have enough staff to cover the day, enough supplies to make ice cream, and enough social media advertising. With the competitive nature of today’s world, promoting effectively through social media is crucial to standing out amidst both local ice cream parlors and larger ice cream enterprises.

“The local community has given us so much support since 2001, even before I bought the shop. They always come out and support in any way they can,” said Schutz.

With this tremendous amount of support from the local Edison and Metuchen community, he hopes to make his ice cream parlor a space that is open and accessible to students. In other words, the shop serves as a safe place where students can come after school to study, talk, or spend time with one another.

Similar to many other small businesses in the area, the biggest hurdle in taking ownership of What’s the Scoop was the learning curve of how to operate the business. Schutz also noted that learning how to make a premium, delectable ice cream was another obstacle he faced.

“Learning how to actually make ice cream was also a big learning curve because we used to make pizza… we used to sell both pizza and ice cream. And that’s kind of a way our business has evolved,” said Schutz.

He further explained that after the business moved from 410 Main Street to 457 Main Street, space became limited. This smaller space ultimately eliminated the chance to make pizza and pushed the business to focus on exclusively on selling ice cream. However, moving to a smaller space allowed What’s the Scoop to do considerably well compared to other local ice cream parlors, especially during difficult times. The local ice cream parlor stayed open throughout the entirety of the pandemic and took measures, such as limiting staff to two families, to ensure safety while continuing to serve the community. What’s the Scoop also began to offer ice cream packages to make ice cream sundaes at home, allowing customers to enjoy the business’ premium hand-made ice creams during isolating times.

“I really think this transition to selling ice cream kits and hand delivering them during COVID was a proud moment for me and the business,” said Schutz.

For students interested in starting their own business, he has a suggestion.

“Pick the right location and make sure you have enough funding because it almost always costs more than what you plan it to be,” said Schutz. “Don’t worry about mistakes, and keep learning at the job. Learning how to do things better will make your boss happy.”

He also urges students entering the workforce to commit to their work and keep learning at their job. Local business owners rely on their staff to operate and run their store, so calling out for any reason is discouraged and staff should show that they are willing to make a responsible commitment to their work.

For the future, Schutz hopes to grow the business by drawing customers in through retail and growing the wholesale business by selling larger quantities of ice cream, like pints and quarts, at the same time.

“We have 72 flavors as of now, but want to start elevating the flavors to make them more unique to bring in a broader base of customers,” added Shutz. He hopes that What’s the Scoop leaves a legacy of being a local ice cream store that was able to serve the community and serve as a comfortable environment anyone could come to after a local baseball game or a long day of school or work.