MCSHERRYSTOWN, Pa. (WHTM) — An Adams County teen is running her own ice cream shop, but she is serving up more than your average scoop.
Ripleigh Maring spends her afternoons scooping ice cream. Another afternoon scooping ice cream.
“It’s like heaven in a cup,” she said. “This is vanilla and then he got a scoop of vanilla and Oreo cheesecake.”
However, Maring is not like most 15-year-olds working in an ice cream shop. She owns this McSherrystown dessert destination, calling it Ripleigh’s Eat It or Not Creamery.
“Being an entrepreneur just kind of ran in my family,” Maring said.
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Maring said her mom, also an entrepreneur, inspired her to start her own business and guided her along the way.
“The ice cream business definitely came about when I traveled the world,” Maring said, describing flavors she saw in places like Japan. “The place where the moment just kind of struck was in London.”
Her business started out of a trailer in Maryland.
“Now it’s kind of evolved into a food truck,” Maring said.
In June 2022, she brought it home, opening a storefront in Adams County, blocks away from where she manufactures the ice cream she sells and hiring friends from high school to staff the shop.
“It’s fun to bring something that not a lot of people can experience around here just to them.,” she said.
An ice cream shop might not sound like a new experience for people, but Maring isn’t just serving up vanilla or chocolate.
“This cabinet is our safety zone,” she explained, indicating one of four ice cream cases. “You’re basic if you stay in this cabinet.”
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She’s constantly brainstorming, coming up with some unique flavors to fill the other cases.
“Then over here is our crazy cabinet, which we call the ‘We Double Dog Dare You’,” Maring said. “Spicy pineapple avocado, buffalo chicken.”
She also creates what she calls “Freak Shakes,” massive dessert creations with ice cream and several toppings. Some are topped with an entire slice of cheesecake.
“If you’re open to trying it, you’re going to like it,” she said.
The crazy flavors are just a small piece of her business. Maring said the best part is the customers.
“These little kids come up to me and they ask me for pictures because they’re like ‘You’re my idol.’ I’m not saving lives, I’m just selling ice cream, but that’s just so nice of you,” she said.
For her, that’s what it’s about: making people happy.
“You’re here to have something sweet, have an experience and walk out the door with smiles,” Maring said.