March 2025 Alum Spotlight: Maria Jones ‘18

By KRISTIN BECK ‘05

Presentation Academy

What do you do when your favorite sweet treat is sold in Wisconsin and you’ve moved back home to Louisville? You bring it back with you and share it with your hometown!

Maria Jones ’18 fell in love with Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream when she was attending Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded by Chuck and Nancy Deadman in 1962, the company sells super-premium ice cream and has more than 100 flavors.

“When I moved back to Louisville, the closest place that sold Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream was in Indianapolis so I wanted to bring it to Louisville. [I’m] not sure what makes their ice cream so delicious, maybe it’s a mix of their unique flavors and good Wisconsin dairy! Additionally, what I love about Chocolate Shoppe is that they have vegan, gluten-free, and no sugar added so there’s ice cream for almost anyone!”

Last summer, Maria founded Zoop Scoops last summer and began selling the specialty ice cream out of a wooden ice cream cart at some farmers’ markets. This year, she plans to set up on Saturday mornings at the Jeffersontown Farmers’ Market on Watterson Trail and at more events with the new ice cream bike cart she was able to purchase through a grant from Les Dames d’Escoffier International: Kentucky Chapter, a philanthropic organization of women leaders in the food, beverage and hospitality industries.

She also set up at Presentation Academy’s inaugural Taste at the Tower event. “The event was great, and I’d love to come back next year.”

“I have always had an interest in learning about building a small business and starting an ice cream cart seemed like a perfect way to learn about entrepreneurship and bring my favorite ice cream to Louisville,” Maria said.

Maria said she knew what she wanted to name the business for a long time. “I used to say the word “Zoop” a lot to mean “go” and it’s also the sound of motion like ‘zooop!’ So the idea is that the cart ‘zoops’ (goes) and serves a scoop of ice cream. And it rhymes, so I thought it was clever!”

Maria orders about 12 flavors of ice cream at a time and can carry five flavors in her cart. She works out of Chef Space, Louisville’s first kitchen incubator, located in West Louisville. Her favorite flavor is Blue Moon. “It’s kind of a mystery flavor, but it’s very creamy and a little fruity,” she said. Her best seller is definitely Superhuman. “It’s bright red, blue and yellow (Blue Moon, cherry and vanilla flavored), enjoyed by children and adults alike. Kids love the colors and adults often remember the flavor from their childhood, so I think it’s nostalgic for them.”

Maria said her favorite part about running the business is getting to learn about every aspect of a small business – marketing, bookkeeping, customer service, etc. “I never get bored doing so many different tasks! My least favorite part is sometimes not getting to spend as much time on Zoop Scoops as I’d like and the permits... There are so many permits.”

Her long-term goal is learning how to make the ice cream she loves herself. “I love watching videos and researching about how different types of ice cream are made, so I’d love to do something creative in the future in trying different flavors and methods.”

While she would love it if the business grew into a full-time job, “right now I’m happy spending my summer weekends serving ice cream!”

After graduating from Pres in 2018, she attended one year of college at Beloit College, running cross country. She transferred to University of Louisville and earned a bachelor's degree in international social services. Some of her semesters were online, so she took the opportunity to study and work abroad. She was a nanny in the United Arab Emirates, studied Arabic for a few months in Jordan, and taught English in a kindergarten in Palestine. She has previously worked in social work, specifically in refugee resettlement. Currently, she works as a caregiver.

Her advice to current Pres Girls is to “take the opportunities you get to try everything because every step in your life is connected. If I hadn’t had the opportunity at Pres to try cross country, I wouldn’t have ended up going to Wisconsin my first year in college to run for Beloit. That led me to discover the ice cream that I love and the passion to share it with others! You never know where the steps in your life will lead you.”

To find out where Maria will be selling her premium ice cream or to book her for an event, follow Zoop Scoops on Instagram @zoopscoopsicecream.