Greg Raynes, owner of the newly opened ice cream parlor Oak Barrel Ice and Creamery located at 197 S Golden State Boulevard, ponders the success he has already been experiencing since opening about two weeks away.
“I’ve been very surprised…the number of people who have been walking through the door has challenged me to keep the ice cream on the shelves,” Raynes said.
Currently a teacher at Dutcher Middle School, Raynes explains that an ice cream parlor has been a long time coming.
“Ah, well, throughout my life as a child we spent summers in Carmel Valley with no TV so we had to read and fish. We lived down by the river and my mom would come about once a week with a big ten pound block of ice and an ice pick. My brother and I would break the ice up into chunks and she would make the mix and then we would put it into an old fashioned, hand cranked ice cream freezer, and that was our treat for the summertimes.”
As Raynes recounts this quaint tale, there is a fondness in his voice that settles in the air of his beloved shop. Today, his childhood pastime has become a blossoming business that in many ways, allows children and adults alike to revel in the nostalgic disposition of their youth.
“People will come in and say as a child, we used to go to this ice cream place and get this ice cream, I never found it anywhere. And I go, ok, let me see if I can make it,” Raynes said. “I had a lady come in this last week and was after a pink grapefruit sorbet. She’s going to bring in the pink grapefruits, and I’m going to make the sorbet, and see how it goes.”
That is something you would not be able to do at your local chain ice cream shop; Raynes’ authentic investment in his customers is a business trait uncommon these days that will surely set him apart.
Perhaps the most important key to his shop’s success can be attributed to the time and care that goes into Raynes’ homemade ice cream which includes flavors such as mint chip, root beer, caramel crunch and strawberry-berry (which includes fresh strawberries).
Sorbet is also available for those who prefer dairy-free treats, in flavors such as mango, pineapple cream ice and coffee-caramel cream ice, to name a few. Aside from a regular scoop or two of icea cream ($2 per), milkshakes ($5), sundaes ($5) and quarts ($8) are also available to take home.
Due to his teaching position, Raynes’ time is currently split between his classroom and his business.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that right now at the level I’m at, I need to make ice cream at least 5 hours a day to keep up. If it’s not too busy, I get my counter help here and I will be in the kitchen the whole time making the ice cream,” Raynes said. “I work until noon teaching and then I get over here by 3 and we close up at 9, but these guys (his employees) leave at 7, so my making time right now is 3-7 which is a little bit cramped for me.”
Raynes contemplates retiring from teaching in order to focus on his parlor.
“The business has picked up a lot and I think it’s probably going to be full time which was the idea anyway, so this may be my last year teaching, we’ll see.”
A quick glance around the shop’s small interior shows a tremendous room for progress in the months to come, and Raynes noted that the two back walls belong to his daughter, currently a Zoology major at UC Santa Barbara. When she comes home, she’ll be filling those walls with her art.
“That’ll mean a lot to me,” Raynes explained. “What she’s said to me is that she wants me to be happy and follow my dreams…It means a lot to me that she’s proud of me for having the guts to take the jump into it.”
Raynes is excited for the future of his business.
“I think now I just have to make sure I have a good variety of ice cream and keep the doors open, and I think we’re on our way.”