TOLEDO – Smiles were served during the grand opening of Swanky Scoops artisan ice cream in the warehouse district on last week at 144 S. Huron Street.
“We’ve been coming since they opened [at the Huron Street location], but I figured coming during the grand opening would be good too,” said Dustin Haskins, who enjoyed the frozen treat with his two children.
Memorial Day weekend was a soft launch for Warehouse District location, but now, a few months on, with i’s dotted and t’s crossed, Swanky Scoops cut the proverbial red-ribbon in front of a crowd of patrons on one of the hottest days of the year.
A smooth treat
Owner Alissa Vieira has sold her ice cream that specializes in “unique and unexpected flavors” to Toledoans for almost half a decade.
“I’ve always loved making ice cream. It’s a fun, creative way to test out different flavor combinations,” Vieira said. “It’s my desert island food, you know. If you could only take one thing with you.”
Wednesday was a milestone, the official celebration for the business’s newest home, near the downtown Toledo’s Farmer’s Market.
Swanky Scoops has been successful selling their distinctive take on the tasty treat with a “French style” recipe, meaning the dessert has a custard base with “egg yolks cooked into the milk and cream.” According to Vieira, this process makes for “…rich and creamy ice cream,” which many people at the opening commented on.
“Smooth, bubbly, airy, light and fluffy,” is how Karen Hopkinson of Walbridge described the unique texture to the dessert that made it “fantastic.”
An eight-year-old of few words, Danny LaValley, simply gave a thumbs up to describe the waffle cone he buried his face in.
And maybe one of Vieira’s biggest supporters, blogger, influencer and content-creator, Shana Lee, who held one side of the ribbon during the opening, had only wonderful things to say about the ice-cream stop.
“I’ve been supporting them since the first scoop,” Lee said, as she described enjoying Swanky Scoops over many years. “It was so good, it tasted so fresh, it tasted like real ingredients.”
“They’re making ice cream right now, literally,” she said, emphasizing the freshness, and explained there were employees making ice cream in the back of the store.
The Toledo Free Press verified two back end employees making ice cream during the grand opening event.
“We’re the brains behind the operation,” said Diann Harrison, who was mixing an ice cream base.
After that “first scoop” Lee said she was impressed with the quality of the ice cream and the quality of the hospitality. Initially Lee and Vieira were strangers, but after one stop into Swanky Scoops, Lee said Vieira remembered her and her mother’s names.
The ice cream laid the foundation for an organic friendship, “I followed them everywhere,” Lee said.
Swanky history
Over the past few years, Swanky Scoops has been “everywhere.”
Around the end of 2019, Vieira started seriously considering opening up her own business. “I purchased commercial ice cream equipment in the beginning of 2020,” Vieira said.
Initially, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she began working out of her home in Oregon, Ohio. “I had my ice cream batch freezer set up in my garage.”
By 2021, Swanky Scoops moved into a shared kitchen with the Original Sub Shop and Deli, and began selling prepackaged ice cream by May of 2021.
Patrons of the Original Sub Shop and Deli could purchase pints or half-pints of Swanky Scoops and had the option between four or five flavors.
But, Vieira said, “Ice cream is best enjoyed in a dipping cabinet, where it’s tempered to the perfect temperature, and we can scoop and serve it for you.” She admitted that the initial run of pints was just to get her product out in front of people.
In 2022, Swanky Scoops started showing up at events, with their mobile cart, “so that we could go into farmer’s markets and festivals, and then also private parties for corporate and social events.”
And by 2023, Vieira moved her business to 10th Street, in downtown Toledo, but the size of the location wasn’t big enough for accommodating customers in-store.
December 2025 is when Vieira signed the lease for the Huron Street location, and in March started a Kickstarter that raised $11,617 towards renovations.
By May 21, the store was open, and on July 1 the business was celebrating.
“It’s exciting to have a new location to welcome more people in,” said Jaymes Mull, front end staff, during the grand opening.
Satisfied customers filled the store that featured a mural by local artist Connor Degnan.
“Our flavors are always rotating, our menu is changing, very frequently, sometimes even every few days,” Vieira said and invited people to check in regularly.
