The warm, sugary aroma of freshly baked waffle cones fills the room as a neon blue tipped flame toasts a marshmallow fluff to golden brown. 

While blowtorches and ice cream might seem like an unconventional pair, Penny Ice Creamery’s innovative techniques and toppings draw long lines of eager customers, stretching all the way out onto the street.

Set to open in Palo Alto in late April, the Santa Cruz-based shop was founded in 2010 by chef Kendra Baker and business partner Zachary Davis. The creamery prides itself on serving artisanal ice cream with locally sourced, organic ingredients, according to its website. In fact, much of the creamery’s approach to ice cream was influenced by Baker’s education and cooking experiences around the world.

Baker said that she first fell in love with cooking and food while studying abroad during her years at the University of California Santa Cruz. Whether with friends or with professors, Baker found that food played an integral role in fostering community and bringing people together. Eventually, inspired by the farm-to-table movement, an ability to create her own products from scratch and a desire to connect with her community, Baker returned to Santa Cruz to start her own business.

“Because of my background, it was really important to me to make our ice cream completely from scratch,” Baker said. “But in order to make your ice cream completely from scratch, you have to be a licensed pasteurizer and have a dairy manufacturing plant. So our Penny on Cedar Street [in Santa Cruz] is actually one of the smallest dairy manufacturing plants in the United States.”

In addition to making their own custard, or ice cream base, Baker said that Penny Ice Creamery often works with local farmers to acquire the freshest of ingredients while also fostering relationships within their community.

“I love sourcing our beautiful fruits and vegetables that are grown right here,” Baker said. “I know the farmers who grow them, I know how they farm and we share the same values for the stewardship of the land so that makes it really unique to me. It makes me feel like I’m doing my part in terms of operating a really sustainable business that is considering the environment.

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According to Baker, this partnership with local farmers inspires seasonal flavors such as their Meyer Lemon Sorbet or Carrot Cake, beyond the traditional ones found in most ice cream shops.

“Every month, the kitchen manager and I sit down and we collaborate and pull together our ideas, the other cook’s ideas, customer suggestions and then also what the farmers have told us that they’ll have coming available,” Baker said. “It allows me to get in the special and really highly seasonal ingredients from our farmers and do wild and wacky flavors.”

Our hope is with people like you and your school … [is that] we can collaborate and hear what the community wants to see from us and what we can do to be a part of your guys’ community. [/pullquote]

Although Penny Ice Creamery will be new to the Palo Alto community, Baker says its relationship with residents will allow them to thrive and create a lasting impact beyond the ice cream they serve.

“I’m already starting to reach out to growers in different areas closer to Palo Alto to see how we can incorporate their handmade items or the things that they’re growing … so that we can showcase what’s unique about Palo Alto and the Peninsula and really make it a part of our area,” Baker said. 

Penny Ice Creamery also hopes to establish its own unique relationship with Palo Alto High School and its students; Baker said it is in the midst of designing pre-packaged treats aimed at on-the-go Paly students. 

“What we really love is our customer service and our ability to share stories and build community,” Baker said. “So our hope is with people like you and your school … [is that] we can collaborate and hear what the community wants to see from us and what we can do to be a part of your guys’ community.”