From the new kid on the block to an instant favorite, Panhandle Cone & Coffee has quickly become a Moscow staple.
Opening its doors just a month ago in mid-March, the second shop with the Panhandle name hasn’t slowed down yet.
The plans to expand the popular North Idaho shop have been in the works for some time, with the first opening in Sandpoint four years ago.
Owner Jason Dillon and his family were looking for the right location that fit the culture. Moscow was the prime candidate.
“About two years ago, we decided to start looking around for expansion. There were some closer options,” Dillon said. “Nothing had the downtown feel and vibe that Moscow has, and it just felt similar to Sandpoint. We just love the old school downtown and a great food scene in Moscow, as well. The final straw for us for coming to Moscow was experiencing the farmer’s market.”
Eimile Darney | Argonaut
Panhandle employees greets customers with a smile on Wednesday, April 17.
The quality and quantity of Moscow’s local ingredients were also a major reason why they made the move south, using many within their products such as the Moscow Food Co-op’s red lentils.
The reaction the shop has seen since coming to the Palouse has been amazing, Dillon said.
Despite still being relatively new to the Moscow community, another main goal of theirs is to build relationships with other local shops and non-profits, working to keep residents involved with traditions, as well.
The tradition “Wooden Nickel Wednesday” — where they hide a wooden nickel in town and give clues via social media — is making its way to Moscow soon.
Through the shop, Dillon said they hope to educate people on what makes the ice cream so different from other businesses.
“We try to find super quality ingredients to put in our ice cream, and since we make it all ourselves, we can control what is going in that,” Dillon said. “Our ice cream has very little air in it, which makes it more dense and creamy. We aren’t dictated by anyone — but we just try to find as many local and quality ingredients as we can, and we don’t want to be pretentious about it.”
One of the shop’s signatures is their vanilla ice cream, which is made with locally distilled light rum and Madagascar vanilla beans. They sit for eight weeks, making a unique and delicious vanilla extract that is anything but plain.
Panhandle Cone & Coffee is open Sunday through Thursday from noon till 8 p.m., staying open until 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Zack Kellogg can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @kellogg_zack