By Cameron Rasmusson
Reader Staff
Buzzfeed, the Internet repository for all things Millennial, gave Panhandle Cone and Coffee a sweet surprise last week.
The massive web-based publication listed the ice cream shop as the most popular destination in Idaho for a cool summertime treat. Buzzfeed collaborated with business review site Yelp to select the favorite ice cream shop in every state, using an algorithm that factored the number of reviews alongside the average star rating. Panhandle Cone and Coffee bested every other Idaho ice cream shop in its reviews-to-stars ratio.
“We were pretty excited about it, obviously,” said co-owner Jason Dillon.
The ice cream shop owners first found out about the article when a fan posted it to their Facebook page last week. Since then, it’s whipped up a flurry of activity, with news outlets picking up the story and sharing it on social media. Dillon said a regional TV show even contacted them about potentially featuring the shop, although nothing is set in stone at this point.
“This post by far reached more people than any other on our Facebook page,” Dillon said. “We got a lot of shares from people that were excited for us.”
The article featured comments from Yelpers, who raved about the quality of both the ice cream and service.
“We were both super excited to try the Huckleberry, as it is the state fruit of Idaho, and we saw it everywhere around Sandpoint,” wrote Jennifer L. “It was DELICIOUS!!!! There were pieces of huckleberry within the buttercream mix — so good.”
“Everything is homemade, all natural, and served up with a small town smile,” Lora W. wrote. “Do not miss the fresh, homemade waffle cones!”
Panhandle Cone and Coffee has become a popular local institution in its short time in business. That’s thanks in part to the shop’s homemade ice cream recipes, but Dillon also credits his employees.
“I think it’s just a testament to quality of our staff,” he said. “We have a whole crew of people that just love giving people a great ice cream experience.”
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