Negranti Creamery opens third SLO County scoop shop. What’s next for Paso Robles company?
About a decade after she started crafting sheep’s milk ice cream in Paso Robles, Negranti Creamery founder Alexis Negranti has opened a third San Luis Obispo County scoop shop.
Negranti Creamery’s third ice cream store officially opened at 6090 El Camino Real in Atascadero on Saturday.
The new location offers scoops of eight flavors of sheep’s milk ice cream as well as ice cream sandwiches and pints.
Negranti started out selling sheep’s milk ice cream at weddings, events and stores such as Vons and Whole Foods, she told the Tribune in 2017.
She opened Negranti Creamery’s first storefront location in Paso Robles’ Tin City in 2017, then opened a scoop shop at 211 Pine St. in Paso Robles in late May. Another location is slated to open this summer.
Negranti Creamery’s new Atascadero location is located in a 1,900-square-foot development made out of seven shipping containers and built by Z Villages. Other tenants are Ancient Owl Beer Garden and Stellar + S.U.N. Hat Company.
“We’re so excited to be in Atascadero,” Negranti said. “The community here is wonderful.”
Benefits of sheep’s milk ice cream
According to Negranti, sheep’s milk contains more vitamins, minerals and protein than cow’s milk. Most importantly, it contains the A2 protein, which makes it easier to digest, she said.
“I call it the miracle milk,” Negranti said.
Because sheep’s milk has half the fat of cow’s milk, the ice cream’s texture is lighter, she said.
“It’s not going to have that buttery feel on the roof of your mouth, but it’s still creamy,” said Negranti, who sources her milk from pasture-raised, grass-fed sheep. “It tastes like your grandma’s homemade ice cream.”
The Atascadero scoop shop offers six flavors of sheep’s milk ice cream, including fresh mint chip, salted brown sugar and black coffee chip.
The store also sells two flavors of ice cream made with cow’s milk: chocolate caramel and cake batter.
Negranti’s favorite flavor is peanut butter chocolate, which she created about four years ago while pregnant with her daughter, June. “I was craving Reese’s, and I needed a healthier alternative,” she explained.
The idea for Negranti Creamery’s popular strawberry basil flavor came when she ate a strawberry, basil and cheese sandwich.
“It was so yummy, and I thought, ‘I bet we can make this into an ice cream,’ ” Negranti said.
Negranti Creamery is family business
Negranti runs the business with her husband Wade. The couple has two children: 6-year-old Eli, whose favorite flavor is salted brown sugar, and 3-year-old June, whose favorite flavor is chocolate brownie with rainbow sprinkles.
“We truly are a family business,” Alexis Negranti said. “You’ll often see our kids running through the creamery.”
Negranti said she’s excited to share ice cream made by her family with other families in Atascadero.
“It’s really a community and a family-friendly area, and that’s exactly our vibe and what we strive for,” she said.
Negranti Creamery plans to open a fourth scoop shop in mid-August in Boise, Idaho, according to the Idaho Statesman.
Negranti Creamery’s Atascadero scoop shop opens every day at 11:30 a.m. and closes at 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and at 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Find out more at negranticreamery.com.
This story was originally published August 3, 2021 at 3:34 PM.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story said that Negranti Creamery is opening a location at San Luis Obispo Public Market at Bonetti Ranch, which is no longer happening. The error has been corrected.
