Ice cream parlour moving to bigger premises on ‘sunny side’ of the road

AN ice cream shop in Henley is relocating to a larger premises.

The Scoop Room, which opened in 2022 in Duke Street, is looking to open at the former PRLA hair salon in Reading Road.

Owners Ryan Barlow, 45, and Katrina Minoletti, 44, who run Gelato Henley, which creates the ice cream sold in the shop, hope to reopen in the spring.

The new location offers increased space for indoor and outdoor seating and allows the kitchen, based at Henley Self Storage in Newtown Road, to be moved on-site. Ms Minoletti said: “We opened the Scoop Room three years ago and it’s just gone from strength to strength and we have been looking for more space.

“The new premises is subject to contract as we’re in talks with solicitors but it’s exciting for us to think about having more seating and to still be on the sunny side of the road, which we love. It has got a really nice energy about it.

“We’ve been looking for a new spot in the town for some time but this place was perfect, given the timescale and its size.

“We hope that our customers will continue to come by and walk just a few minutes down the road for their ice cream.”

The pair, who met when they were 17 and 18 in 1998 at Reading Festival, began making ice cream about
12 years ago, following a trip to Italy.

Ms Minoletti said: “Ryan saw how much ice cream I ate and he thought we could save money making our own.

“We started making our own recipes which turned out really good and we haven’t stopped since.”

While Mr Barlow is the main gelato maker, Ms Minoletti helps prepare the ingredients. She said: “I make the salted caramel sauce, which we blend into the ice cream and I make honeycomb for our most popular flavour using local honey from Honeys of Henley.”

Before setting up the Scoop Room, the pair spent nine years caring for their two children, now aged nine and 12, developing recipes and attending wholesale events to sell what they had made.

They hope to expand its range and unveil new flavours in the spring, including Ferrero Rocher ice cream balls, which they say will be the size of tennis balls.