Faces of Hoover - David Cohen

David Cohen opened an ice cream shop two years ago, but he didn’t know quite how it would turn into a community gathering spot. The Whole Scoop, situated within a few miles of several schools, welcomes droves of baseball teams, students after school and people from all over Hoover.

Cohen often slows down the line as he talks to everyone who comes in for ice cream. And to him, the Hoover High School students who work at Whole Scoop are not just employees but mentees in the hospitality industry. Their work, he said, is amazing. 

Cohen doesn’t think twice about sharing the gift of ice cream. He offers half-price parties for baseball teams, held a spirit night to raise money for the Hoover High football team, provides ice cream cake for other sporting events and gave $1 off coupons to all the children who attended Vacation Bible School at Hunter Street Baptist Church this summer.

“We say yes to everything,” he said.

Cohen and his family originally moved to Hoover from South Florida seven years ago when he went to work as food and beverage director for The Wynfrey Hotel, and he is quick to note how different Hoover is from what he had always known.

“People are just so warm and friendly here,” he said. “My neighbor watches my dog when I go out of town, and my neighbor has a key to my shop, too.”

Outside the shop, Cohen, who lives just three minutes away in Russet Woods, is a member of Hunter Street Baptist, has coached sports teams for son Robbie and daughter Katie and volunteers with the Tipoff Club for Hoover High where Robbie plays basketball.