As summertime temperatures heat up, a local ice cream shop and coffee bar aims to become a top ice cream destination after opening its doors in late June.

Angel Brook Ice Cream’s first brick-and-mortar shop features homemade ice cream and locally-sourced coffee at 8524 W. Gage Blvd., Suite 4, just across the street from the Kennewick Costco.

The longtime farming family behind Angel Brook also runs an ice cream food truck at Summer’s Hub of Kennewick, as well as farm stands throughout the Tri-Cities.

Local flavor

The new location serves up to 24 different flavors of ice cream, an expansion from the 14 rotating flavors on the menu at the Hub. Angel Brook ice cream features local, natural ingredients, from peaches to raspberries and blackberries.

To boost the purple color of the huckleberry ice cream, purple carrot extract is used. Cookies and brownies used in the ice creams are baked on-site. 

“We’ve always been farmers,” said Kyle Beus, owner and operator. “We’ll continue to be farmers. And so why not use some of those products?” 

Angel Brook Ice Cream’s new Kennewick shop serves up to 24 different flavors of homemade ice cream.

| Photo by Nathan Finke

Angel Brook also offers several sorbet options for those looking for a dairy-free alternative.

Though the owners are longtime farmers, this isn’t their first venture into the ice cream business.

Kyle Beus helped found the Country Mercantile in Pasco almost three decades ago, transforming it from an asparagus stand to a store selling produce, gourmet foods, jams, chocolates – and ice cream.

He decided to sell the business after a few years as he focused more on his young family. 

Years later, he wanted to get back into ice cream and he wanted to make it from scratch. He leased space at the Pasco Specialty Kitchen in 2021 and began making ice cream to sell at Angel Brook’s farm stands.

Initially, a food truck with ice cream was in place at the farm stand in Richland, but the family decided to move it to the Hub in Kennewick. Though business is slow in the winter, it was a good decision, Kyle Beus said. 

Grab ice cream, coffee and a seat inside Angel Brook’s first brick-and-mortar shop at 8524 W. Gage Blvd. in Kennewick, across the street from Costco.

| Photo by Nathan Finke

A good mix

New to this latest location will be the coffee bar. 

Kyle Beus’ daughter Baily Beus, who is the general manager, has been working in the coffee industry a decade, and she’s launched the coffee side of the business under the name “Farmer’s Daughter Coffee.”

The coffee is sourced from Rockabilly Roasting Co. in Kennewick, and some of the specialty drinks showcase Angel Brook’s ice cream, such as the affogato, which features espresso poured over vanilla ice cream.

Baily Beus said her favorite drink – and it’s become a popular one at the shop – is the muddled raspberry mocha, featuring fresh berries. 

She said coffee is fun to geek out over and creating signature drinks is a fun creative process as it combines her favorite things: coffee, fresh fruit, local honey and good ice cream.

A sign for the Farmer’s Daughter Coffee Bar hangs beside a baby picture of the farmer's daughter, Baily Beus, with her parents on the cover of the October 1996 edition of the Columbia Basin Farmer publication.

| Photo by Nathan Finke 

Visitors to the new storefront can use the location’s drive-thru to pick up both coffee and ice cream. Angel Brook’s hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., capturing both the morning coffee crowd and those looking for a cold afternoon treat. 

“I’ve always kind of thought coffee and ice cream would be a good mix,” Kyle Beus said.

The building’s drive-thru drew him to the location, as well as its prime spot on the busy Gage Boulevard, directly across from Costco.

In fact, it was upon leaving Costco with his wife earlier this year that Kyle Beus first saw the location for lease. He immediately jumped into negotiations and spent six weeks remodeling the space, a $50,000 investment. 

It wasn’t a huge overhaul, as the former tenant – Brother’s Cheese Steaks – already had a good setup, including sinks, floor drains and a hood for baking products.

Angel Brook brought in its own specialized ice cream equipment, and it will eventually shift production from the Pasco Specialty Kitchen to the new store. 

“We’re not an ice cream parlor that’s going out and buying our ice cream. The biggest difference with us will be that quality that we’re making right here with fresh ingredients all of the time,” Kyle Beus said. 

Though the parking lot in front of Angel Brook Ice Cream is small, customers also can access the shop from the other side of the building which offers more parking. 

Angel Brook Ice Cream has set up shop across the street from Costco in Kennewick, and owner Kyle Beus hopes it will be a top ice cream destination. The new location features a coffee bar and a drive-through.

| Photo by Rachel Visick

Diverse offerings

Angel Brook has a number of other specialties, too. Its produce stands are open June through October in each of the Tri-Cities, offering around 10 to 15 different crops, either grown at Angel Brook’s farm off of the Pasco-Kahlotus Highway or purchased from friends and family. 

The produce stands have been in the area for about eight years, Kyle Beus said. 

Angel Brook also sells local honey and hosts an annual Christmas Tree Jubilee with trees sourced from small farmers throughout the Pacific Northwest and a variety of activities.

Angel Brook hired about 10 new employees for the ice cream shop. The company employs 30 to 40 people during peak season spread across the farm, produce stands and the Hub ice cream truck. 

Many of the employees are young, and that’s a rewarding piece of what Kyle Beus does, he said. “It’s kind of fun to watch that, you know, 16-year-old come in, shy, not used to talking to strangers … blossom from that shy young person to somebody that is a manager now and can do whatever needs to be done,” he said. 

Family is an important part of the business, too, Kyle Beus said. From Baily Beus’ work on the coffee side of the new ice cream shop to the involvement of Kyle’s son Kolt Beus’ work managing produce, Angel Brook is a family-oriented enterprise, Kyle Beus said.

Baily Beus said the business’s name honors her late older sister, Brooke Angel Beus, who died in 2021.

Angel Brook’s farm stands can be found seasonally between June and October at the following locations: 5200 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick; 1415 George Washington Way, Richland; and 6708 W. Argent Road, Pasco.

Angel Brook Ice Cream and Farmer’s Daughter Coffee Bar: 8524 W. Gage Blvd., Suite 4, Kennewick, angelbrookfarm.com, Facebook, Instagram.