New ice cream shop opens in SLO County with ‘Heaven’ on its menu

Adeline Carley grew up around her best friend’s ice cream shop in North Carolina and never wanted to leave.

Now the owner of her own ice cream shop, Nana’s, Carley lives in Atascadero with her fiance and scoops heaps of heaven every day — literally, as one of the most popular flavors is called “Heaven,” a mix of vanilla, peanut butter and fudge brownie.

“It’s one of those businesses where I think it’s fun working it and coming in,” Carley told The Tribune during a recent interview. “I always wanted to find something that I would love to just be here all the time.”

“That was my concern,” she continued, “that I wouldn’t want to be here all the time. But I literally am here all day, every day, and I do not mind at all. I love it, and it’s so fun.”

Nana’s Ice Cream & Coffee opened on May 5, with 12 unique flavors imported from Marianne’s Ice Cream in Santa Cruz. Carley scoops enormous servings of flavors like Heaven, mint chip, burgundy cherry and Oreo cookie.

Carley said when it came time to choose what brand of ice cream would be sold in the shop, she wanted to prioritize something new to the area.

“I didn’t want to do McConnell’s, because McConnell’s you can get anywhere,” she said. “I was like, ‘I can’t do that. I need something that no one has in this area,’ and the closest spot for Marianne’s is Monterey. So if you do want Marianne’s here, you’ve got to go two hours away to get it.”

Though the choice is costly, Carley said she thinks it will pay off.

“I think in the end, it’s worth it, because every single day, we get compliments on our ice cream, and I wouldn’t change it,” she said. “So I think it’s perfect.”

The shop also now sells coffee from Tres Hermanos after officially setting up its coffee menu last week. That means customers also have the option of getting an affogato, or ice cream topped with a shot of espresso.

“We ended up deciding to do a coffee collab,” Carley said. “I wanted to have longer hours, and that just felt right. I love coffee. I love their coffee.”

Just Baked’s frosted flower cookies, brownies and classic cookies are displayed next to Nana’s ice cream options, with a waffle iron behind the register where Carley’s mother makes homemade waffle cones in the shop every day.

The ice cream, coffee and baked goods shop will also start to serve breakfast items like quiches and breakfast tarts this week.

As to who is Nana? The shop is named after Carley’s great-grandmother, who ate rum raisin ice cream every day.

“I swear she lived longer because of that, but that’s where I got the name Nana’s Ice Cream shop,” she said. “It only feels right.”

What’s on the menu at new ice cream, coffee shop?

For a caffeine boost, Nana’s serves all the classic americanos, cortados and cappucinnos, as well as the Tres Hermanos latte, which is a condensed milk latte with brown sugar, nutmeg, clove and cinnamon. Coffee prices range from $3.50 for a double shot of espresso to $7.50 for the affogato.

Nana’s scoops standard ice cream flavors like chocolate, pistachio nut, vanilla bean and strawberry and also has two dairy-free flavors: chocolate Oreo swirl and raspberry sorbet.

“All of these flavors have gone all the way through,” Carley said. “We haven’t had a flavor that just sits there yet. But if I did, I think I would just take it out. I’m not having it stay there just because I bought it. I’ll just take it out and maybe eat it at home or something.”

The shop also sells a classic ice cream sundae, with real hot fudge, whipped cream, peanuts and one cherry for $9.50. Prices for ice cream scoops range from $4.50 for a kids scoop to $7.50.

“Our scoops are massive,” she said. “For reference, I have not had someone order a triple yet because of how big our scoops are, and we do not charge that much at all.”

Carley said so far, they’ve even had some repeat customers coming back “almost every single day.”

“I like to think that it’s because it’s such a good price that you can come back, but you’re also getting so much,” she said.

For more information

Nana’s Ice Cream & Coffee at 5990 Entrada Ave. in Atascadero is open every day from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., although hours are subject to change, Carley said.

For more information about the new ice cream, coffee and baked goods shop, visit its Instagram page at nanasicecream.