BARBERTON, Ohio — Skoops Ice Cream, a beloved staple in Barberton, opened up for a few hours on Thursday so customers who needed a last-minute sweet treat—ice cream cake, soft serve to go with holiday pies—could get their necessities as they went to celebrate Thanksgiving with their families and friends. But inside the ice cream shop, only one employee was on staff—owner Terry Rastetter-Helbling.
Rastetter-Helbling opened Skoops on Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. It's something he does after an experience he had on a past Thanksgiving.
"A couple of years ago some lady placed an order for a cake and she wanted to pick it up on Thanksgiving. We couldn't get ahold of her to change the date so I figured I'd meet her here. I did, and she was flying in from out of town from Akron-Canton Airport, so I met her here just to pick up the cake, and next thing you know, there was like six other people in line that needed ice cream for their pies and all that stuff so it kind of started a little tradition," he said.
Now, Skoops opens for a few hours on Thanksgiving morning for people to come in and grab their sweet treats as they head to celebrate with loved ones. But Rastetter-Helbling also wanted to make sure his employees got to do the same.
So on Thursday, the nearly 40 employees of Skoops had the day off, and Rastetter-Helbling ran the shop solo.
"Until we opened Skoops, all my jobs that I ever worked restaurant-wise, corporate restaurants, I was required to work on Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. It was always celebrated the day after. I never ate Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving, so it’s important for us to have those holidays where they can spend their time with their families," Rastetter-Helbling said.
He even sent his husband and co-owner David home for the day.
"His job today is green bean casserole. It's like, you do that, I'll do this," he said.
The idea was well-received by customers.
All morning long, Skoops had last-minute shoppers pop by to pick up a cake, a few pints of ice cream, or even just a small treat for themselves or their kids.
"We had seen their post on Facebook saying they were going to be open for just about an hour and a half on Thanksgiving just in case anyone needed anything last minute, and they specifically said, 'no workers, go ahead and stay home, we the owners are going to come out' and I thought to myself that’s really, really cool," said customer Chris Mezzolesta.
Mezzolesta stopped by the ice cream stand to get some vanilla ice cream he had forgotten to grab to go alongside his scratch-made apple and pumpkin pies. Skoops ice cream seemed like the perfect fit, and it didn't hurt, he said, that he got to support a business that valued its employees on the holidays.
"This place has always been community-oriented, so now that they're doing this really selfless thing, it's really nice," Mezzolesta said. "It really seems to me that they're putting their community ahead of anything for themselves. They're certainly giving of themselves. They're giving up their day."
He wasn't alone. Customer after customer thanked Rastetter-Helbling for not only the ice cream but for the gesture of giving his staff the holiday while running the store himself. Some who are used to working holidays said it resonated deeply with them.
"That’s a wonderful thing, the opportunity for an owner to actually come in and actually work for employees and letting them have the day off. I understand how that possibly is because I’m an employee as well, that to have the day off to be able to spend some time with family and friends is amazing," said customer Vonda Johnson.
Rastetter-Helbling gifting time with family and friends to his employees on Thursday gave his customers something extra to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
"I’m definitely thankful for Skoops on Thanksgiving, said Josh Prevynski.
"I’m thankful for Skoops on Thanksgiving—especially since these are my carb days, and I love it," said Johnson
