Vic’s Ice Cream, a Land Park staple was listed for sale in August. The ice cream parlor at 3199 Riverside Blvd has served the community over the past several decades until the death of Craig Rutledge, son to original co-founder Ashley Rutledge, died in March. Now, the shop is being sold to a local group who plans on continuing this legacy. This news was first seen in the Sacramento Business Journal.
The incoming operating group consists of Carlo Grifone and daughter Samantha Grifone, Scott Matrenec and Matt Rutledge, son of the late Craig Rutledge. Carlo Grifone is an owner of local pizza chain Giovanni’s Old World New York Pizzeria and Samantha Grifone will oversee the day-to-day operations of the ice cream parlor. Matrenec is an owner of Frog & Slim on 16th Street and an angel investor for Sacramento Angels.
Samantha Grifone told the Business Journal that the group “are Land Park families who wanted to carry on the legacy of the business” and “are happy to have Matt Rutledge join their team as it was important for the business to stay in the family in some way.”
Upon sale completion, the group will temporarily close the doors to renovate the space. The menu will largely remain the same but the group has a main goal to start making ice cream from scratch again. To do so, the team will need to “install new pasteurization machinery in the business’s kitchen area, which allows for more control over production for variables such as textures, levels of ice and creaminess,” according to the Business Journal.
