Picture this. It’s a hot summer night and you’ve just finished your house soccer game. You are sweating and the now slightly warm water in your Nalgene doesn’t taste very refreshing. So, you and your friends go to The Neighborhood Ice Cream Shop after the game and get a scoop of your favorite ice cream flavor. Life is good.

The Neighborhood Ice Cream Shop, located in the heart of Edina, has been around for as long as most of us can remember. It just re-opened on April 1 after being closed for the winter season. Contrary to rumors, this shop is not closing anytime soon, but may be changing locations after this year. “We are probably going to move to the strip mall by Snuffy’s because condos will be going up in the area that it is now,” senior Libby Thompson said.

Thompson has taken on the responsibility of managing the Neighborhood Ice Cream Shop during her senior year. She first started working at NICS during the summer before her junior year, and a year later was chosen by the former manager to take over as manager.

In addition to her regular shifts at NICS, Thompson has three main jobs as the manager. One of her jobs is to text everyone about their availability and make the work schedule for every month. She also orders all of the ice cream from Sebastian Joe’s and Cedar Crest based on her predictions of the quantities they will need. “I get to pick which ice cream [to order] so it’s really nice…all of my favorite flavors are always in,” Thompson said. She also tallies up each employee’s hours from the login sheet and sends them to the owner so he can give out paychecks.

For Thompson, one of the hardest parts about working is when there is a big rush of people after soccer games in the summer. But even when it gets busy, “A lot of the people are really understanding and they know that we’re doing our best,” Thompson said. Also, cleaning can take a long time. “It’s not that bad, but at the end of the night you don’t feel like doing it,” Thompson said.

Even though it has its challenges, Thompson really enjoys her job. Her favorite part about working is that she lives so close and it’s a pretty simple job. “Even if it is busy, it’s fun,” Thompson said. Another one of her favorite parts is the community around the ice cream shop. “It’s been around for so long and I grew up going there,” Thompson said.