Amy Hunter, right, and Alex Owens stand behind the counter of Amy & Alex's Homemade Ice Cream & Coffee Shop on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Last year, Alex Owens and Amy Hunter moved to Shenandoah Junction, ready to put their creative, entrepreneurial spirits to the test with the opening of a new business, Amy & Alex’s Homemade Ice Cream & Coffee Shop.

As fall turned to winter, however, the husband-and-wife team were disappointed to learn that the Kearneysville location they had hoped to open their business in was in extensive disrepair. Their search for a new location came to an unexpectedly quick end in January, when they learned, while shopping for groceries at the Community Garden Market, that its neighboring business space was going to be listed the very next day for rent.

“The tenant had just handed in the key!” Hunter said, noting they had immediately approached the landlord about it. “I said, ‘You know what? We’ll take it!’ And we love it here, so far.”

Amy & Alex’s Homemade Ice Cream & Coffee Shop opened at 207 South Princess Street on May 22. According to the couple, the public reception to their business has been overwhelmingly positive.

“It worked out perfectly for us,” Owens said. “I thought it would be a slower process, us just getting into it and learning our way, but people have been coming in. It’s been great. Our neighbors and the whole community have been amazing!”

In preparation for its opening in May, Amy & Alex's Homemade Ice Cream & Coffee Shop underwent a makeover, beginning in Jan. 2023. Tabitha Johnston

In preparation for opening their shop, the couple began developing their ice cream-making skills this past fall.

“We started the whole process, I would say, in October of last year,” Owens said. “We went to ice cream school down in Tampa, Florida.”

From there, the couple began working out the details of their business model. Those plans can now be seen in their ice cream display case, which features a changing variety of traditional ice cream flavors — chocolate, strawberry, vanilla and mint chip — and unique ice cream flavors — Honey Raspberry Blueberry Swirl, Peanut Butter Chocolate Pretzel, Mango Dragonfruit and Coffee Crunch Bar. Always on tap are two or three dairy-free coconut milk ice creams, in flavors such as Match White Chip, Chocolate Almond and Cookies & Cold Brew.

“With the ice cream flavors, we’re trying to offer a lot of different flavors — ones that you can’t find in the supermarket,” Owens said. “We’re just trying to do things that are creative, that keep people interested. Everybody loves ice cream!”

Another aspect of their business model is their focus on only using the best ingredients.

From left, Tracie Brunk, of Shepherdstown, enjoys ice cream with her 12-year-old granddaughter, Meagan Brunk, and daughter-in-law, Monica Brunk, in Amy & Alex's Homemade Ice Cream & Coffee Shop on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston

“We’re trying to focus more on clean ingredients — no artificial flavors, no artificial ingredients. It’s something that we have trouble finding when we’ve gone out for ice cream,” Hunter said. “Most add-ins to our ice cream are organic, if that’s available. For instance, the strawberries in our strawberry ice cream are organic.”

In further alignment with their business model, the shop’s craft coffee, coffee syrup and tea brands — Cannon Coffee, Holy Kakow and Steven Smith Teamaker — are made up of organic or organic-adjacent ingredients. And, if they run out of a clean ingredient, they know that they only have to walk next door to find it — back to where their current adventure began, in the Community Garden Market.

Amy & Alex’s Homemade Ice Cream & Coffee Shop is currently open every day, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. To learn more, visit Amy & Alex’s on Facebook or amyandalexs on Instagram.

A family enters Amy & Alex's Homemade Ice Cream & Coffee on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston