In This Issue:

? MEET THE STAFF

? JULY IS NATIONAL ICE CREAM MONTH

? ABOUT ICE CREAM – IS YOURS SHRINKING?

? FLAVOR REPORT

? SCHEDULE

MEET THE STAFF

The Zinger’s team is set for the 2008 season, and once again it’s a combination of experienced veterans and promising rookies. Linda comes back for her fourth season, Justin returns for year #3, and James starts his second term. Melissa, Tori, and Monica are all newcomers, though not necessarily unfamiliar with our ice cream (as in they ate it before they scooped it). We know our ice cream is second to none, but we’ll also stack our crew up against any other scoop shop in town.

While they vary in interests, experience, and age (from 14 to …uh…older), they all share one thing: A love of ice cream. They KNOW the ice cream – what’s in it, what flavors go best in a chocolate waffle, etc. Better still, they are able to infuse that love and knowledge across the counter to you. They’re personable, solicitous (and they know what that word means), charming, witty, clean, courteous, and they count your change back to you – they’re the best crew anyone could hope for. They will make you smile, and occasionally they will make you laugh (usually intentionally). If they only remembered to clean the lunchroom table after their break, they’d be perfect.

JULY IS NATIONAL ICE CREAM MONTH

OK, it’s not a “Hallmark Holiday” – yet. But ever since President Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day in 1984, Americans have done their patriotic duty of standing up for their country to sit down and eat more ice cream every summer. The President, “called for all people of the United States to observe these events with appropriate ceremonies and activities.” So forget the card – eat some ice cream. Our ice cream, preferably. Does a double make you twice as patriotic? Can’t hurt. More info on the “holiday” here: http://www.idfa.org/facts/icmonth/page1.cfm

ABOUT ICE CREAM – Facts and Fun

We continue our series centering on ice cream facts – mostly about our own homemade ice cream, but also about ice cream in general (things you might not know), and a little trivia.

This month we focus on the ice cream industry, asking, “Is your ice cream shrinking?” We don’t mean melting…we mean getting smaller. Because the price of most dairy products is going up, the Dreyer’s Ice Cream Company announced in May a new design for their home packed ice cream in grocery stores. Of course, that’s a euphemism for “smaller” as the once-half-gallon that had shrunk to 1.75 quarts about two years ago would now be…1.5 quarts. Naturally, the price remains the same, so many consumers will buy thinking they’re getting the same deal. They’re not. Other premium ice cream manufacturers are expected to follow suit. There is some ice cream still available in half-gallon containers, but these are the “mainstream” (non-premium) store brands. They use cheaper ingredients to make a cheaper product. ‘Nuff said.

What does this have to do with your local ice cream parlor/scooper shop? Because of those aforementioned price increases, businesses can either (a) raise prices, (b) leave prices the same and absorb the increased costs, or (c) make the product smaller. That’s harder to do, but in a recent visit to some of our competitors*, that’s what we found. The “standard” for parlor ice cream scoops is four ounces (OK, it’s the “Baskin-Robbins standard”), though this can vary**. A couple of years ago we found that most other shops in town came close to the Zinger’s-sized scoop (a whopping 5.5 ounces), but now only one does that (and they charge more and use a factory-made cone). So the local scoops seem to be shrinking, too. When we discussed this back at the store, one of our staff noted that even though the other stores charge LESS, the cost-per-ounce was MORE everywhere else (about ten cents more per ounce). Who says we don’t have smart folks working for us? See above…

So, the bottom line in this case IS the bottom line. We give you a great value. And it’s a premium, homemade product with REAL ingredients. And it’s a homemade cone. Why DO folks go anywhere else?

* Oh, don’t act so surprised – businesses check out the competition all the time. In fact, we’re pretty sure one of our competitors gets this newsletter. Hi there!

** “Over-scooping” is one of the biggest headaches in the ice cream business. Unless you have good employees and the right kind of scoopers (we have both), the size of a cone can vary as much as 100%! It could be that we got an over-scooped cone before, and a “normal” cone this time. Or not. And hey, it happens at our place from time to time, too. If you get an over-scooped cone at Zinger’s, feel lucky…and eat it all.

Trivia – Originally, ice cream scoops were not round, but conically-shaped. You can find some very nice antique conical scoopers on EBay. We’ll stick to the modern type, thank you.

FLAVOR REPORT

For the Fourth of July we’ll have a patriotic special on a Red, White, and Blue trio – Blue Moon, Red Pop, and Very Vanilla. This one-time triple scoop dish promises to be much more delicious than a flag pin. Show your spirit! This special triple dish will be available only on the Fourth (and only as long as supplies of Red Pop last), so don’t miss out.

REGULARS (our “Big 10”): Butter Pecan, Chocolate Almond, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Coffee Bean, Just Plain Chocolate, Marionberry, Mint Chocolate Chip, New York Cheesecake, Oreo Cookie, Strawberry, and Very Vanilla.

ROTATING FLAVORS STILL HERE: Blue Moon, Black Walnut, Licorice, Malted Milk Ball,

Oregon Black Cherry, Orange-Pineapple, and Peppermint Candy.

ROTATING FLAVOR CHANGES: Chocolate Covered Banana replaced Banana Pudding.

Oregon Hazelnut replaces Caramel Cashew. Dulce de Leche will fill in for Danish Sweet

Cream. White Chocolate Chip ends its limited run, replaced by limited runs of Butter Brickle, Cinnamon, Coconut, Gingersnap, and Red Pop…not necessarily in that order, just to keep you on your toes.

NO-SUGAR-ADDED FLAVORS: We introduce a new flavor, Lemon Custard – it replaces Cinnamon, and eventually we’ll have Black Walnut in for Butter Pecan.

SCHEDULE

The hours schedule is simple – we’re open every day from 1pm-10pm with ONE exception – on the Fourth of July we’re open from Noon-9pm (after the parade and before the fireworks).

MAIL CONTACT

If you have questions about this newsletter or about Zinger’s Homemade Ice Cream, contact us via e-mail: newsletter@zingersicecream.com