Scoop Du Jour, the popular ice cream, donut and coffee shop in Chatham, has brewed up a new plan to attract business beyond the morning hours.
Scoop has expanded its offerings by building out a bar space that now serves alcoholic coffee and ice cream treats. Scoop is branding the recently opened bar addition as Scoop After Dark.
The menu for Scoop After Dark features dessert drinks such as espresso martinis and mudslides. Fran Abbott, who owns Scoop Du Jour along with her partner Shannon McAuley, said they are still working on rolling out additional menu items.
“We have the ice cream and donuts on the one side, and we wanted to create an after-dinner destination on the other side,” Abbott said. “Right now we’re solidifying the menu of fun ice cream cocktail drinks and coffee drinks.”
Abbott said they plan to eventually add food options such as pizzas and flatbreads to the Scoop After Dark menu. She and McAuley are meeting with a chef in the first week of February to discuss possible menu offerings. “We’ll see what we come up with,” she said.
In addition to the lounge, Scoop also recently added a gaming room.
A change in landlord was part of what prompted Abbott and McAuley to move ahead with the expansion. Scoop Du Jour previously subleased its space at 95 West Plummer Blvd. from Goodwill Industries. However, the West Plummer building was purchased by an out-of-town investment group a couple years ago, and lease rates in the building went up.
“With a rent increase of about 30%, we decided we needed to evolve,” Abbott said.
Scoop Du Jour, which is celebrating its 10th year in business this year, invested about $80,000 in the build out of Scoop After Dark, Abbott said.
“We’ve been here 10 years, so we have to find a way to keep changing and keep moving forward while still being true to our original plan,” Abbott said.